Multi-shopper cooperative shopping experience apparatus and method

A multiple customer cooperative shopping apparatus, comprising:

• a control circuit corresponding to a shopping facility;
• a memory coupled to the control circuit and storing computer instructions that when executed by the control circuit cause the control circuit to:
• associate both a local customer and a remote customer with a single motorized transport unit configured to removably couple with a movable item container such that the local customer and the remote customer are both simultaneously associated with the motorized transport unit at the same time during at least a portion of a period of time that the local customer is associated with the motorized transport unit, wherein the local customer is physically located at the shopping facility, and the remote customer is located remote from the shopping facility and is associated with the motorized transport unit through the remote customer's user interface unit that is communicationally coupled with the control circuit through a distributed network;
• and
• provide a cooperative shopping experience between both the local customer and the remote customer while both the local customer and the remote customer are simultaneously associated with the motorized transport unit.