Bargain Shoppers Drive Foot Traffic at Dollar Stores Amid Persistent High Prices
Both Dollar General and Dollar Tree are expanding this year as foot traffic and repeat visits surge.
As prices continue to grow, dollar stores are attracting increased foot traffic and repeat visits from consumers looking for value, according to a Placer.ai analysis.
Dollar General is the nation’s largest dollar store. It surpassed 20,000 U.S. locations during the second quarter after opening nearly 200 new stores. Meanwhile, Dollar Tree has 8,300 locations, including 100 new stores opened this year. Both chains have indicated they plan to continue to expand, with Dollar General expecting to open a total of 730 new stores in 2024 and Dollar Tree expanding through the takeover of 170 stores from the 99 Cents Only brand.
These expansions are helping drive sustained foot traffic gains. During the second quarter, Dollar General had a 13.1% year-over-year increase in foot traffic while Dollar Tree’s visits grew 8.4% year-over-year, according to the analysis. The only deviation from the trend of increased foot traffic for the dollar stores through the first 7 months of the year was a dip in traffic in April for Dollar Tree, which Placer.ai attributed to a shift in demand for holiday merchandise due to the timing of Easter.
Over the same period, the two chains also experienced year-over-year increases in the average number of visits to each of their locations – 10.3% for Dollar General and 3.7% for Dollar Tree – indicating that visits to individual stores remained robust as the brands grew.
Rising customer loyalty also is playing a key role in the dollar stores’ success, Placer.ai said. Both brands have seen an increase in repeat shopper visits. In July 2024, 35.5% of Dollar General visitors frequented the chain at least three times during the month, up from 34.1% in July 2022, a trend that could be related to the brand’s focus on a product mix that competes with grocery retailers, drawing shoppers in for daily essentials regularly.
Dollar Tree’s repeat business is more modest but still notable thanks to diversified offerings at various price points including consumables. In July 2024, 16.6% of Dollar Tree’s visitors also visited the chain at least three times, up from 13.9% in July 2022, the report said.