Use cases
The shopping that spans several shops, runs for weeks, and often involves more than one person — which is exactly where a cart per shop stops working.
Everything you need to buy before a trip, in one place
Kit for a trip comes from a dozen shops and gets decided by several people. Keep it in one shared cart with a running total instead of a group chat.
Furnishing a place without losing track of what it costs
Furniture from one shop, kitchen things from three others, and a budget two people are watching. Keep it in one cart with a total you can actually see.
Keep a gift list that spans every shop
Ideas for other people turn up all year and from everywhere. Keep them in one cart per person so December is not a scramble through your own message history.
One shopping list for a renovation, across every store
Tile from one store, fixtures from another, tools from Amazon. Keep a renovation's shopping in one shared cart per project, with a running total by store.