Just like the shopping cart theory itself, this is mostly just a thought experiment at this point in time.
The point of a protestation is to make it hard for others to ignore, and make it clear what the end condition is. I don’t plan on just starting to do this as an individual because it would have no impact; I still make sure my own carts get returned personally.
The point stands that our goodwill is frequently exploited for profit, often under the pretense that it’s just basic human decency.
Y’know, now that you mention it, the sealioning behaviour I’d been conditioned to expect is a big reason for why I spend so much time writing my comments and adding qualifying statements.