Happy shoppers: appetite for ‘nanna glamour' drives up wheelie bag sales

You may associate shopping trolleys with older people travelling home with their groceries. But now they are being embraced by shoppers of all ages thanks to a fashion makeover that chimes with the current vogue for "nanna glamour".

- Zoe Wood 

High street retailers say they have seen a surge in demand for the practical "wheelie bag", with consumers seeing them as an alternative to lugging supermarket totes or driving to the shops.

John Lewis says that over the past six months, shopping trolley sales are up nearly 80% on 2023, prompting the department store to increase the number of styles it stocks. Fashion experts say the trend combines "high fashion with comfort and convenience for a modern, eccentric look".

"Take the rise in loafers, for example; much more comfortable than a heel, but they can offer a really highend finish to an outfit," said Beth Pettet, John Lewis's head of fashion.

"Likewise, shopping trolley bags are a godsend for lugging heavy items. In recent years these were something of a faux pas, but the wheelie wonders are having a resurgence." Some early trolley adopters reported ridicule from friends and family who refused to be seen in public with them. They were perhaps offered some vindication when Chanel and Louis Vuitton launched luxury designer versions.