Target Encourages Store-Wide Mayhem With Mario Kart Shopping Carts

In what seems like a great cross-promotion for the Nintendo Switch, but which stands a decent chance of ending in utter bedlam at hundreds of Target stores nationwide, the retailer has decided to dress up shopping carts as Mario Karts.

Maybe not a good idea with an entire store full of boxes waiting to be turned into power-ups and a produce section full of banana peels waiting to be thrown.

The promotion, for better or worse, will reach more than 650 of Target’s stores, and involves multiple parts of the store. You can tell which stores are part of the promotion if you see that the giant red balls (Target calls them “bollards”) out front have covers that make them look like Mario and Luigi.

If you haven’t taken that as a warning to stay away, you’ll find that the store entrance looks like a starting line, which surely won’t encourage mayhem from children of all ages, some of whom have been fantasizing about a real-world Mario Kart for decades.

“As you walk through, motion sensors fire up flashing lights and play Mario’s catchy theme song,” Target explains.

If that has you ready to take off, you can grab one of the decorated carts that will be in the chosen stores and zoom around the store looking for a Nintendo Switch, which you probably won’t find, since they’re still in short supply.

We already know that adults love to zoom around Tokyo in costumes while pretending to be in a Mario Kart game. Children found the wide aisles of Target irresistible when the chain experimented with child-sized shopping carts, and they terrorized parents and strangers alike.

The promotion starts today, though the game won’t be released until Tuesday, April 28.

Target tells Consumerist it is not providing a specific list of which stores will be involved in the promotion, so you’ll just have to drive your real car around until you find a Target with Mario and Luigi outside.