Nowadays, in the United States, it is almost impossible to avoid a Dollar Store.
It is estimated that 249 million Americans now live within eight kilometers of one, making them almost as common as McDonald’s franchises. About 35,000 stores belong to Dollar General and Dollar Tree, the two largest competitors in the sector.
Dollar Stores are the fastest-growing food retailers in the U.S., both in number and in food spending.
In 2022, Dollar General generated $37.8 billion in revenue, closely followed by Dollar Tree with $28.3 billion. The stores are known for serving low-income communities. But a survey by Morning Consult found last year that 45% of families earning over $100,000 a year were willing to shop at discount stores, a rate 39% higher than the previous year.
In summary, people need them, but that doesn’t stop them from hating them as well.
The stores offer lower prices, but at the same time provide smaller quantities, making their products more accessible, but only in the short term.
And these products are far from healthy. Dollar Stores sell only the profitable foods, meaning those that are shelf-stable, generally higher in calories and lower in nutrients.
Dollar General is planning to change this – the company sells fruits and vegetables in approximately 3,900 stores and plans to increase that number to about 10,000 in the coming years.
Another constant consumer complaint is the lack of sanitary care.
Two years ago, an uncontrolled rat problem in a Dollar Tree warehouse in Arkansas led to an infestation in stores across six states. The FDA issued product recalls that caused 404 stores to remove most of their food from the shelves.
Thefts and lack of security have also displeased consumers. The business model of the chains relies on few employees, making the locations hotspots for looting, thefts, and other crimes. Last year, in a store in Ohio, a ‘customer’ killed an employee with a machete. According to the Gun Violence Archive, a nonprofit organization, Dollar Stores have been the scene of armed violence incidents 727 times in the past nine years. In other words, once every 4.5 days.
Even with the stores operating with a single cashier, together the companies in the sector employ about 370,000 people nationwide, which means 0.001% of the entire country works in a dollar store owned by one of the two major chains.
Since 2018, municipalities across the country have been reacting to this explosive growth. About 60 communities – including Tulsa, Oklahoma; Kansas City, Missouri; and Mesquite, Texas, among others – have voted for temporary or permanent restrictions on dollar stores, using zoning statutes to do so.
A community in Louisiana recently managed to block a development in court – a judge ruled that the project’s approval would harm the health, safety, and well-being of its residents. Cities like Detroit and Chicago are now working on their own bans.
But has anyone asked the customers who frequent these stores how they feel about the prohibition of these businesses?
Source: The Hustle