I wonder how much of this behavior is caused by enormous parking lots and shopping by car. where i live there is a packing area next to the cart return. I put my stuff into bags and backpack there, then return the cart. No hassle at all. If I had to go a couple of hundred meters to return the cart, I might come up with excuses too. Lots of our decisions are driven by the environment we live in. Reasons are made up after the fact.