I think you're onto something. My gut tells me it related to car culture, but it could also be some specific cultural entitlement related to something as simple as "the customer is always right" and "have it your way" mentality.
It'd be fun to figure out if this happens elsewhere in the world. I don't think it happens much in Europe, but I only live in one of the countries, Denmark, and we all have to use a 10 or 20 krone coin (like 1½ dollars and 3 dollars) or a token that fits (often free from the store) to "rent" trolleys and I think that psychologically help give some temporary feeling of ownership of the cart making one more likely to return it.