Discount retailers Dollar General and Dollar Tree are riding a wave of increasing revenues and store accounts and achieved "record-breaking" development as investors flocked to the sector last year, according to analysis from Landan Dory, VP of Avison Young's US Capital Markets Net Lease Group.

According to Statista, there are currently over 34,000 Dollar stores across the country, and the vast majority are single tenant net lease stores owned by private investors, funds, and REITs. Dollar General accounts for around 17,000, with Dollar Tree and Family Dollar (which Dollar Tree owns) making up most of the rest.

The stores were deemed essential at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing them to stay open and reap record profits. Dollar General's revenues have ticked up by between 6% and 9% in recent years, and the brand clocked a 22% revenue increase in the last 12 months. Meanwhile, Dollar Tree's average annual revenue growth has historically increased 2% to 7% on average, and went up 8% over the past 12 months.