While the Dollar Store isn’t technically a grocery business, they are feeding more people than one of the highest-profile supermarket chains in America — Whole Foods.
In a recent report by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, grocery sales at the two biggest dollar brands, Dollar Tree and Dollar General, increased to nearly $24 billion this year, compared with roughly $15 billion at Whole Foods, according to private market data from the research firm Chain Store Guide.
“In small towns and urban neighborhoods alike, dollar stores are leading full-service grocery stores to close,” the ILSR’s Marie Donahue and Stacy Mitchell wrote in their report. “And their strategy of saturating communities with multiple outlets is making it impossible for new grocers and other local businesses to take root and grow.”
Dollar Tree and Dollar General have very small with food options including basics like milk, bread, frozen vegetables and canned soup. Whole Foods, by contrast, has about 450 stores, with a focus on fresh produce. Dollar General and Dollar Tree, which also owns Family Dollar, have thrived in rural and low-income areas because at the stores, everything costs a dollar. This makes it easier for U.S. workers with stagnant wages to grab what they need knowing exactly what their total will be.
While there may be no fresh produce, there are plenty of food options.
“They have steaks in there, they have french fries,” Alisha Glover, a D.C. resident and frequent dollar store customer, told HuffPost. said. “Those are name-brand food products that the Dollar Tree is carrying.”
By: Maytinee Kramer
