As inflation skyrockets and many struggle to make ends meet as the pandemic wears on, more Americans are turning to stores that have always, unfortunately, been staples of rural and other underserved communities: dollar stores.
Foot traffic at the largest of such chains, Dollar General, is up 32% from pre-pandemic levels, according to data from analysts at Placer.ai.
“Dollar Tree and Big Lots also saw impressive growth numbers with March 2021 driving increases of 18.5% and 15.9%…respectively compared to the same month in 2019,” the company noted, quoting data from some 50 million consumers.
Dollar General is also expanding its grocery offerings to keep up with demand.
“It’s a striking disparity: In this country, there is now dollar-store land and there is Whole Foods land,” said Stacy Mitchell, co-director of the non-profit group Institute for Local Self-Reliance, to the Stamford Advocate. “And if you live in Whole Foods land, it’s very hard for people to understand just how desperate circumstances are for the rest of the country.”
Dollar General spokeswoman Crystal Luce tells the publication that its newest shoppers tend to be younger, have higher incomes and be more ethnically diverse.