Two teenagers, Leo and Ivar, orchestrated a playful prank by arranging a hundred shopping carts in the parking lot of a closed City Gross store in Borlänge. The stunt, which was captured and shared on TikTok, quickly gained media attention. Although initially intended as a harmless joke, the duo now hopes to prevent the trend from spreading to open stores, as it could cause financial loss.
Teenagers' Shopping Cart Prank in Borlänge Goes Viral
Teenagers' Shopping Cart Prank in Borlänge Goes Viral
When the staff at City Gross in Borlänge arrived at work on Sunday, they were in for a surprise. Around a hundred shopping carts were neatly lined up in the supermarket's parking lot. Now, Leo, 15, and Ivar, 16, have come forward.
Videos of the neatly arranged carts spread on TikTok on Monday and were quickly picked up by several media outlets. Leo, 15, and Ivar, 16, from Borlänge, never imagined this when they executed the prank on Saturday night.
– I was a bit shocked because I mostly thought it might end up in the local newspaper or Facebook groups, says Leo, 15.
Ivar and Leo had no plans for a prank when they arrived at the store's parking lot on Saturday evening – they were actually just there to shop. But the store had already closed, and the two friends decided to come up with something to pass the time.
– We were really bored. And there were a lot of shopping carts there, says Ivar, 16.
They started moving the carts back and forth across the parking lot, and by 11 PM, they had filled the parking lot with what they estimate to be about a hundred shopping carts.
– It took about an hour and a half, says Ivar.
Want to Stop the Trend
The two friends knew the store would remain closed as it had been bought out and was awaiting reopening.
– It was pretty harmless anyway, says Ivar.
Several others seem to have picked up on the idea. Similar pranks are said to have occurred at an Ica store in Bålsta, north of Stockholm, and at a Coop store in Stockholm, according to Aftonbladet. But Ivar and Leo want to stop the trend before it spreads further.
– The store was closed anyway. No one would miss out on anything, and it was more of a joke. If you're at a store that's open, you actually lose money on it. It's not very nice, says Ivar.
Offered Cleaning Help
When a picture of the carts appeared on TikTok, the boys suspected the person worked at the store – and sent a message offering to help with the cleanup.
"If you need help with anything, feel free to reach out, and I can make up for the trouble we've caused," they wrote in the message.
Mathias Karlsson, regional manager for City Gross, was shocked when he arrived at work in the morning. The staff spent half an hour putting the carts back, but took the prank in stride.
– A bit amused, it was very professionally done. A shopping cart almost centered in each spot, he said in an interview with Expressen on Monday.