Dive Brief:

• In a case of good intentions gone bad, Target Stores is pulling kiddie-sized shopping carts designed to occupy customers’ children during shopping trips after complaints outpaced kudos, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports. 

• Target ended the pilot this week after just a few weeks of testing based on criticism in stores and across social media from parents as well as other shoppers. Kids would be quite vocal when their parents didn’t buy what they collected, some said, while other customers said the mini-carts struck them in the shins, the Star-Tribune said.

• “At Target, our guests are at the center of everything we do, and we value their feedback,” a Target spokeswoman told the Star-Tribune. “We briefly tested kiddie carts at 72 Target stores, and after reviewing guest and stores feedback, we have made the decision to stop the test.”

Dive Insight:

Target’s kiddie-cart fail came at essentially the same time millennial Target employee Tom Grennell’s own social media posts about his experience working for the chain have gone viral. Grennell’s posts are a stream of micro-reports that include many endearing encounters with children, e.g. “Had a very engaging conversation with a three year old boy about colors. We both like blue.”

Other posts detail how kids are often among Grennell's best customers: “A three year old came through, pushed by his personal chauffeur. He bought one small Spider-Man onesie. He carried out the entire transaction on his own. He was the most polite customer I have had so far.”

But generally speaking, politeness isn’t always top of mind for kids, and rather than distracting them for good as designed, the miniature carts often seemed to foster evil (or at least result in bruised ankles). “Might be time for @target to offer people free beer to enjoy while they shop if they are going to give kids mini carts. Not pleasant!” read one Tweet. (More ominously: “Dear @Target re: kids carts — LOSE THEM or lose me as a customer.”)

Target heard them, and it didn't take long for executives to slam the brakes on the cart experiment. The retailer has consistently shown that it pays attention to parents (and other customers) who have something to say about its policies on blogs and social media: Last year it began a concerted effort to de-gender its toy section and ultimately created lines of gender-neutral home goods and apparel as well.