How many carts are you supposed to have for your prototype, and how many do you actually have? Your ETL can tell you how many you’re supposed to have, your PML might remember, and they also might remember the actual amount you had for the last time they had to submit a carts/handbaskets survey.
What’s your average transaction count per day? And the big one: is your store scheduling appropriate coverage for front of store attendant based on plan payroll, and do you have enough trained dedicated front of store attendants who are working productively? If the answer to either of these is no, there’s no way you’ll get a cart pusher. If the answer is yes, can you demonstrate an impact to the guests experience due to the issue (NPS scores and specific feedback on surveys) or due to resources being put into getting carts instead of helping guests?
Big picture, it’s not an expensive asset, Target’s cost per unit is $2,956. Overall resources if one was added include payroll for TM training and certification on it, and it would be an additional asset for PM to maintain as well. An asset under $5,000 would be a store expense, my suggestion would be for the SD to talk to the PMBP about getting a cart pusher ordered IF you meet all of the above conditions.