With prices creeping up, more Americans are turning to dollar stores

Stamford Advocate ^ | Aug. 20, 2021 | Abha Bhattarai , The Washington Post

[conservative98]

Kyle Dishman can't afford to shop at the local grocery store anymore. Instead he goes to Dollar General, where he can make $40 stretch into a week's worth of groceries and the occasional can of motor oil for his Chrysler 300.

He sticks with pasta, frozen pizza and canned vegetables, fully aware that "any food you can buy for only $1 is not the greatest for you." But Dishman says prices have gone up so much that he's started rationing his food.

"When you only have a certain amount to spend, it's like, why not just go to the dollar store?" he said.

A growing number of Americans are relying on dollar stores for everyday needs, especially groceries, as the coronavirus pandemic drags into its 18th month. Chains such as Dollar General and Dollar Tree are reporting blockbuster sales and profits, and proliferating so quickly that some U.S. cities want to limit their growth. The 1,650 dollar stores expected to open this year represent nearly half of all new national retail openings, according to Coresight Research.

[rdl6989]

There’s a Dollar general on every street corner here.

[Leep]

Dollar store Parm cheese is wood filler.

[dfwgator]

I went to a dollar store a couple of weeks ago, and the owner of a local convenience store was buying cases of things to mark up and sell in his store a couple of miles away. Temped got see what some of those Mark-ups look like.

Smart businessman. If he makes money on it from suckers, more power to him.

[gundog]

Oh, I’m sure. I don’t object, in principle, but the guy’s a bit of a prick.

[proud American in Canada]

LOL! Gotta love Apu!

[dpetty121263]

Dollar General, Family Dollar are in one class and Dollar stores are in a lower class.. I would be scared of eating anything from Dollar stores as from what I have observed the canned goods and packaged foods are from either overseas or no name brand, never heard of types. The Dollar General, Family Dollar types sell purposely downsize the items, less bang for the buck compared to Wal Mart or Kroger’s..

[dfwgator]

The real reason liberals hate Apu.

[Leep]

I used to buy dollar store items..back when they weren’t pure crap..and sell them at flea markets for $5-6.

[gundog]

No smarter than the homeless that pick people’s flowers and sell them on the street.

[Leep]

The Walmart GV brand is fairly good and about 1/3-1/2 less than name brand.

[Fury]

Re: 18 - Good post. My Mom was always skeptical of dollar stores.

[gitmo]

How does a dollar store cause a food desert?

[heavy metal]

the dollar general near my place is like a mini walmart and is the only store within 15 miles...

the prices are cheaper than grocery stores...

and the products are the same weight and size as any other stores...

[CornPop]

Slightly different topic: Went to the grocery store to get some turkey breast for smoking some jerky. It was 4.39 a lb. It was half that, last year.

[gitmo]

I don’t object, in principle, but the guy’s a bit of a prick.

Don’t all retail stores do the same thing?

[Roman_War_Criminal]

Nothing in Dollar General stores is $1 anymore last time I went into one.

[Dr. Sivana]

Correct. Some people confuse Dollar General with Dollar Tree which is 99% everything for $1. (helium balloons are an exception).

[heavy metal]

the dollar general stores i have been to my area have a 1 dollar isle...

[Roman_War_Criminal]

Ok, I don’t remember seeing that aisle - but thanks for clearing that up.

[Dr. Sivana]

It wasn’t there an article here yesterday that dollar stores were a scam and the markup and the margins are much higher at dollar stores than regular supermarkets?

If there was, it wasn't fair. First, they compete against very high priced convenience stores as much or more than they do against Kroger, Publix and Stop & Shop. Second, if everything is a dollar, as it is at Dollar Tree, some deals HAVE to be beter than others. Third, if they are skimping on size, it is not fair to compare the per ounce cost of a 7 oz box of Cap'n Crunch at the Dollar Tree to the 40 oz. box at the CostCo.

Is everything there a deal? No. Is it a scam? Also no, unless you consider CVS and Circle K a scam, too.