Politicians will restrict opening of dollar stores in the name of saving the poor from bad nutrition but do nothing to actually address poverty.

In southern rural Kentucky, you’ll find Dollar General on a country highway practically in the middle of nowhere. It really is a valuable service to people living where no other store can be found for many miles.

Dollar General really isn't a cheap place to shop. And, over the years, Dollar Tree has reduced their product sizes. Sometimes, going to dollar stores is wasting more money than it's saving. I pay attention to the sizes/weight of my items and divide their prices by the weights of the item to see if the cents per/unit weight makes sense. If it doesn't I opt for Sams, Costco, or Walmart.

You didn’t restrict Walmart how can you justify restricting dollar stores

Rise of dollar stores equates to the crumbling of the middle class and upward mobility.

Dollar Tree was a gem for me when I moved out of my parent’s house. I needed meals (and everyday items) for one and obviously was on a budget. Good memories shopping there and feeling I was getting a great deal!

Dollar Store just opened a branch here in Zimbabwe. But of course we call it 23 Million Dollar Store

They say they're restricting dollar stores to help poor people when in reality they're doing it to help big box stores like Wal Mart who have bigger lobbying budgets.

A dollar store is like a wonderland you go in there and everything looks affordable.

The analogy about the paper towels has merit if you are buying for a family but a single person may only need 1 paper towel roll and doesn't need 6 or 30 rolls. A lot of ppl do not need a ton of items so these stores work for their needs.

Most people I know had been seeing less than 2% annual increase in the last 5yrs. In other words, our real purchase power is going downhill year after year. Nowadays, if you can afford Walmart, you are middle class. If you regularily shop Target, then you are better than half of the people. Dollar stores will dominate.

Our CFO asked us who walmart's main competition was. We all said Target. He said, no. Target isn't even in their radar. Dollar general he said. And 10 years ago no one have them a second thought.

Well this says it all about: 1. Low wages 2. Wealth distribution 3. Labour America 4. Income gap 5. Struggles to climb the ladder 6. Poverty in America. Global poverty.

I heard recently that because of inflation many items at Dollar Tree will soon be priced more than a dollar. Oh, the humanity! 😢

As a single person one roll of paper towels lasts me a month I don’t need a six month supply I can use that $4 remaining dollars to get other things I need. I’m a late comer to the dollar store but happy I finally took a browse

It tells you how much the US is suffering from wealthy inequality. With wage stagnation and price inflation, the Walmart shopper is becoming the dollar store shopper.

Given rising prices and stagnant wages, many people can only afford Dollar Tree products. Even for those with a decent income, Dollar Tree is just fun to shop at bc they're so cheap.

Just another sign the US is in a rapid state of decline. Everyday there are more poor people, and the inequalities between the rich and poor are becoming unbearable.

I definitely think it is the walkability / accessibility factor. We have a Family Dollar in our neighborhood less than a block away we can walk to versus getting in the car driving a few miles down the road.

Can't be said better, it's a symptom, not a cause. You can't just ban them...

The explosive rise of poverty in the USA would be a more accurate title

Dollar tree accept coupons. Some cashiers are coupon friendly, avoid those are not. I get free or .50 Energizer batteries, .50 toothpaste and etc.

The fact that he has to describe how it’s like to think like a poor person was so sad

The irony where you have to shop at dollar tree due to stagnant wages only for the very workers of said dollar store to pay poverty wage.

When I first moved to Los Angeles in March 2000 I bought everything I could in the 99 Cent Only Stores that are all over L.A. With inflation I doubt they can keep this up much longer.

Something they really gloss over here is how forcing people to spend more money because they have less keeps them trapped in low income. When a company declines to comment on their rapid growth and success you know somethings up.

Dollar stores have the essentials, easy in/out, located nearby, priced right. Unlike super stores with massive parking lots, long aisles of junk, located at a distance.

I live in a podunk town and we got like 14 of them surrounding us, popping up in old fields every year. Some of them have fresh produce and good selection so I'm not gonna complain. DG used to be super cheesy and had only junk food when I was a kid but it's definitely evolved into something like a mini Walmart and you save on gas because you don't have to travel to actual Walmart anymore if your closer DG has what you need.

Processed foods are healthy for corporate profits.

My go-to place for the last 10 years!!! Sill outraged that prices went from $1.00 to $1.25 at Dollar Tree due to inflation!!!

I loved living in Germany with their many discount grocery stores. It was very inexpensive but they had good produce, meat, and cheese. The German Aldi is a little different than their US counterpart. But there was also Lidl, Penny, and others. Germans rejected American Walmart. Lidl was the best, and there are a few in the United States. It would be great if the Lidl grocery model took over rather than dollar stores. Think fresh bread, produce, milk, cheese but no fancy displays and bring your own bag or box like ALDI. Canned items are discounted international so think fair priced Greek olives, pasta from Italy, and 39 cent Spätzle. If Lidl did take over they should consider taking over the cheese production in the USA too. The USA produces tons of excess milk and produces mediocre cheeses. I got Brie for about one or two Euros at Lidl rather than $10. They also had cheap liquor and wine which would likely not happen here. An off brand Jägermeister or good wine for 5 Euros.

Banning affordable stores and claiming it will help poor people. Do these politicians have no shame?

The most affordable store is Costco. I save $500 a year on gasoline alone by going there.

Geez cannot allow dollar store to open because of poor diet? How about not have any diet, that would for sure solve the poor diet problem! Genius move!

I used to work for a company that produced goods for Neiman Marcus to Martha Stewart brands. Dollar Store is smart because they asked for pre-approved licensed items that no other retailers wanted and ordered in bulk.

Dollar stores are just providing what customers want. If you want to improve things, you will have to change the culture and behavior of the communities, not regulate the stores out of existence.

7:39 This is such a bad criticism. Yes buying paper towels in bulk at walmart may save you a few cents per unit compared to dollar tree, but you will more than pay for it with just 1 uncaught pricing error or item marked up for no reason. The last time I needed batteries, the cheapest at walmart was 8x AAs for $8 while dollar tree was selling 2 packs of panasonics for $1. Plus, personally I prefer to outsource warehouse logistics to dollar tree instead of host bulk items rent free in my home.

The problems with the US urban communities is the planning policies that encourage the construction of huge shopping malls people HAVE to drive to instead of being able to walk to within their community. Thus the big stores have huge shops in the big malls while the smaller options like the 'dollar stores' can set up in much smaller communities closer to the clients.

Dollar Tree is making a huge mistake thinking that most of us shop there because of the value. Most ppl shop at DT because the stuff is a dollar. And most of the time when it's a dollar I'm going to buy multiples. If I want to spend more than a dollar I would go to Walmart or Dollar General. I think they're making a big mistake with this.

I enjoy occasionally going to dollar stores as much as the next person; especially for seasonal decorations. The problem is people don't measure the ounces or item count compared to regular grocery stores. A 12 oz can of generic green beans is $1 at the dollar store store, where as a 18 ounce can is $1.19 at the grocery store and people don't realize the $1.19 is a much better deal per ounce. I think the issue isn't going to the dollar store, it's not having nearby competition for people to make informed decisions.

Decline in the middle class, stagnated wages, decline in purchashing power and the rise of dollar stores..America

Dollar tree is gone! 1.25 now. Thanks to inflation

Last time CNBC talked about Dollar General, they stated how it is company policy to open up in existing food deserts.

Dollar Tree helped me get through college. I'd go there and load up on snacks and junk food for the week.

I imagine a chinese dollar store like a huge wall and many many hallways of vending machines with no employees. Fully aitomated, where you click on the products and you pay yourself to the machine. Operating 24 hours 7 days a week. Even pre-ordering from home to the machine and the it will do some face recognition so you can pick it up your bags. The future of mega dollar stores.

The Southwest chain "99 Cents Only" sells a wonderful trove of fresh produce.

Because America are broke Goodwill and the thrift store are on the rise as well Cheers from west Africa 🦅

The problem isn’t dollar stores making it harder for others to compete. The problem is that people are BARELY SURVIVING PAYCHECK TO PAYCHECK! Many would rather travel a bit extra to these dollar stores to save money because they can’t really afford much else

Some dollar stores are dreary simple dumping grounds for cheap, at times out of date or unsaleable items. At the same time, some of them are fun. In California, our dollar store had all the products that were wonderful, except they had mistaken English labelling, some items omitted, or were just unpopular. In California, farmers even use the dollar stores to sell excess inventory; I got 20 lb.s of potatoes for 99 cents.

Dollar tree has definitely improved a lot!!! There is a 5$ section and it’s really nice! They have such nice stuff

I was an international students in the US and I shopped a lot in dollars store. I mean, for a int'l student with limited fund and had no plans to stay permanently in the US, I had no need for luxury items. I only need my basics met and if I could find it cheap, why should I pay more. I still shopped at Walmart/Target/Trader's Joe for fresh produce/food...but still....

I go to them all the time for cheap plastic bags and cleaning stuff. However, store customer service and store cleanliness is terrible. I guess you get what you pay for as they say.

Our government serves the affluent first and foremost. That is a very serious problem. The affluent aren't bright enough to understand that money in peoples hands is how an economy works for every one. All profits and any other kind of money should be directed at the poorest. Any other kind of activity should be called what it is, a Crime.

I’ve noticed that a lot of items that are one dollar at Dollar Tree are less at Walmart by a few cents or more.

Nickel and dime stores? Here in the Southeastern U.S., they were called "five and dime" stores.

I personally have never seen a dollar store employee that actually happy to be there.

For me the nearest Wal-Mart is 60 miles. I call the dollar store the poor mans Wal-Mart.

Inflation is forcing Dollar Tree to rebrand as Dollar/25 Tree

Soon to be the $1.15 store 😂

I love dollar general or dollar stores. I don’t typically buy food there but they have a lot of other items that are much more affordable than big box stores.

Just be careful working in the stores. One became an Uber driver, cuz she was tired of being robbed as a dollar store manager. Sometimes people and kids come check out, and they don't have enough money, so the cashiers feel awkward.

Well think about it, do you like going to Walmart for dog food where you have to find parking, get off and walk half a mile, go into the big store grab a cart and walk another half mile just to reach the dog food? Then you see things you don't need and end up spending $200 on dog food at Walmart? Or just park in front of the Family Dollar and buy your dog food and walk out?

I'm not even tripping about a quarter, up until a year ago, I made fun of dollar stores, thinking they were jumbo version of the dollar aisle at Albertsons, but I've been saving ish-loads of money. I'm in👍

It now, $1.25 store! They having not gotten around to changing the signage yet!

They complain that there are no stores in inner city neighborhoods then dollar stores open and they complain about that.

I think it’s a little inauthentic to compare genuine dollar stores like Dollar Tree, where the vast majority of products are actually $1, to other dollar stores that have the word “dollar” in their name but don’t sell the majority of their products at $1. Every Dollar General, Family Dollar, etc. I have ever been to sell the bulk of their products above $1 whereas Dollar Tree has only just started introducing small sections of items priced up to $5.

Dollar stores are more expensive ("poor tax") than a grocery store or even Wal-Mart. This is why regulation is needed. But they do take the risk moving into areas that Wal-Mart do not. For example a bag of charcoal is a few dollars more expensive and after awhile, you're paying $20-30 more just because you don't have reliable transportation to drive 5 minutes.

Dollar stores are not cheap, its the “perception of being cheap” that is fueling their growth, similar to the psychology of $1.99 bargain.

The smaller size of product is also a convenience - not just the price. It's cos I'm carrying them out, not driving them out.

To be fair, my in-law’s neighborhood has had a DollarGeneral Marketplace (the version with fresh food) for several years; the expansion, not the establishment of that model is fairly recent.

Supermrkets are not the solution to the lack of cheap fresh vegetables in American cities. Sidewalk vendors are, but they are banned.

Dollar General market sells fresh produce.

I LOVE a good Dollar store of any variety, For me its not about being cheap but rather getting more for your money. We tend to forget that products today are simply not made as well as decades prior. Inflation price hiking changes in companies locations , and the cost of shelf life and demand and advertising costs. Its all jacked up the price of all consumer products, many of which are no longer even produced in same manner of old or sourced from the same locations. So what we have are often two products one sold in thrift stores that lack all the glitz and glam of products sold in standard big box venders, but in truth are products being created and sourced from the same location... CHINA, or many other of the major asian foreign nations. The difference in the products overall being negligible at best. so why burn all the extra money thats actually not attributing to a truly better product? at least in most cases. For things like food i typically still stick to the more popular sources, but for general items, you simply mix it up. And often you find, the same product simply relabeled, or lasting just about as long if not longer than its more expensive counterpart.

Dollars stores are very convenient for small household ,kitchen items,but i can't buy any food from them,it's horrible.

Went to the "Dollar Tree" to find that everything that i usually purchase had increased by Twenty five cents, left without purchasing anything and went to WalMart, after looking i found the very same items for around Ninety five and Ninety eight cents, then i checked over at the Dollar General, they had them for One Dollar still, looks like Dollar Tree is overpriced, goodbye Dollar Tree.

The professor at 01:07 is the proof that dollar stores should not sell webcams! 🤣

I was just watching the issue of food desserts. Dollar stores, although not perfect, they at least offer lower prices. This is compare to convenience stores. Their selection is also much better than Convenience stores. But for cold drinks, usually a convenience store would win.

When all you have is a dollar, that is where you go...

did you people forget to mention the fact that most of these places give their employees low amount of hours each week to work so therefore they make more money

Dollar Tree said that its decision to raise prices permanently was "not a reaction to short-term" inflation, but the change will help Dollar Tree return to its typical profit margin of around 35% next year.

Because the average person is getting poorer

So many budget/dollar stores in the greatest economic power of the world. I truly have not seen so many of these kinds of stores elsewhere. Sure, you have euro shops in Germany for example, but they serve slightly different purposes.

America: We want American made goods. Not cheap stuff from China. Also America: We love our dollar stores!

Would have been interesting to mention Dollarama, which has grown like crazy in Canada over the past decade. Also, there's a whole separate category of Asian dollar stores (like Daiso and ABC) and variety stores (MINISO and Oomomo) appearing with their own offerings.

How does taking less of your customer's money make you the villain?

This is awful! I've decided to boycott Dollar Tree! Which is sad, but they already refuse to pay their employees more than $7.25/hour... But to raise prices without paying their employees decent wages! I'm done!!! 💯💅

A Dollar Tree only works out economically if you are a savvy shopper, cook everything from scratch, and grow your own fresh vegetables.

The dollar 25 tree around my way has 3 oz. bags of fruity & cocoa pebbles, which is a straight up ripoff because i can go to a grocery store & get a 13 oz. box for $1.99 if its on sale.

✍️I spent $50 @ the $Tree yesterday. Sure got my money's worth.

Dollar Tree is good. You will never have a pricing mistake or unreasonable markup at dollar tree. You will never be pressured to overbuy and overstock your home, it is the direct opposite of the big box consumerist mentality of "buy a year's supply and throw out half at the end of the year cuz it went bad before you could finish it". Dollar Tree may not offer the best value for every product, but the value will always be fair. Dollar Tree is life.

My Dollar Tree went up to $1.25 didn't shop there very often I never thought some items were even worth a dollar and I never go to Dollar General

Dollar stores here in NZ sell almost exclusively cheap Chinses goods and are run by usually Chinese or Korean immigrants .They supply some very useful goods at a very low price although the quality is naturally lower.

Well they technically aren't dollar stores anymore

This just shows how much poorer we getting as a society

My Dollar store is next door to a UPS store. I buy the card, tissue paper, gift wrap, packing tape and box at Dollar Store before I walk to the UPS store to ship. My other favorite items to buy are tissue boxes, cotton pads, napkins, vaseline lip balm and clear fragrance free hand soap.

Aluminum foil 75 feet on Amazon $3.48 / 12-15 feet Dollar Store $1

One thing people have to realize is that too much of anything is not good, it also applies to making few companies too big isnt good either. The bigger a company gets, the lower their quality of goods become. They will think, why make it better when people are buying it. So my suggestion is to support, small business and also support your local businesses.

Y'all ever heard of the Dollar General index? Leading indicator of incoming economic downturns based on number of dollar stores...

Ollies Outlet also has discount prices.

Dollar General is killing it in the rual community. They are everywhere and in excellent locations. The DG around from my house is packed every day. It's in a great location.