Dollar Stores: Good for Your Wallet, Bad for Your Community

The unprecedented growth of dollar stores is threatening the very communities that rely on them.

Photo by Katie Harp — Pinterest Manager on Unsplash

A new dollar store will open up every six hours nationwide this year. There’s already more dollar stores in the U.S. than there are Walmarts and McDonalds combined. This unprecedented growth is threatening the very communities that rely on them.

Dollar stores make billions so their growth is unsurprising. In 2018, Dollar Tree made $22 billion in revenue and Dollar General’s stock was worth over $35 billion as of this summer. By stocking small, often private-label products for cheap prices, dollar stores are designed to get people to spend more, especially those who like finding a good deal.

Saturating a Saturated Market

Dollar stores are increasingly being built in communities already saturated with Amazon deliveries, Walmart stores and Costco warehouses. In some cases, dollar stores are opening up blocks away from preexisting dollar stores — similar to the growth pattern of Starbucks. That comparison isn’t accidental — researchers say t…