diff --git a/lms/djangoapps/shoppingcart/utils.py b/lms/djangoapps/shoppingcart/utils.py
index e6c4c5402c..c591e39aea 100644
--- a/lms/djangoapps/shoppingcart/utils.py
+++ b/lms/djangoapps/shoppingcart/utils.py
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ def parse_lt_objects(lt_objects):
     for lt_object in lt_objects:
         if isinstance(lt_object, LTTextBox) or isinstance(lt_object, LTTextLine):
             # text
-            text_content.append(lt_object.get_text().encode('utf-8'))
+            text_content.append(lt_object.get_text())
         elif isinstance(lt_object, LTFigure):
             # LTFigure objects are containers for other LT* objects, so recurse through the children
             text_content.append(parse_lt_objects(lt_object._objs))  # pylint: disable=protected-access