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Dollar stores make up nearly half of all new store openings in the U.S.

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Re: Dollar stores make up nearly half of all new store openings in the U.S.

#11

Post by jstummbillig »

ybean wrote: post #9
MattGaiser wrote: post #2

Retail makes so little sense now for anything that isn’t very cheap. Otherwise you can just ship it from Amazon, Instacart, or a speciality store.

That is an incredibly privileged response to something like this. No one who is living in poverty or near the edge of poverty can even consider the additional cost associated with shipping or delivery, let alone on a weekly basis for core staples. Reasonably priced fresh food access within walking distance should be a basic right. However, the people who need this most are those who are underserved.

They specifically pointed out pricing as the relevant factor…

Re: Dollar stores make up nearly half of all new store openings in the U.S.

#12

Post by zwieback »

I've tried to find out the source numbers but can't find them. One article says a third, another "nearly half of large chain retail stores". It's unclear what the denominator is but I highly doubt it's "all new stores" as the linked article claims.

Re: Dollar stores make up nearly half of all new store openings in the U.S.

#13

Post by ybean »

seibelj wrote: post #7

The gut-reaction is that this is some horrible thing rather than a scalable business model that provides low-cost goods to customers in rural areas that were previously underserved. My family in rural Oklahoma and Texas have to drive over an hour to Wal Mart, the dollar stores have a similar but curated subset of goods at a cheap price, and the distance is much closer. HN monoculture loves to crap all over things lik…

Your example is already biased, because you use Walmart as the other option.

Walmart already came through and blew away the local mom and pop market in these rural areas.

Are they more convenient than driving an hour to a walmart? probably.

I've seen small family run stores go out of business specifically because they can't compete with a dollar general that opened a mile away.

"Deeply beneficial" seems like a strong phrase for something you might want to reflect on more.

Ask some of your older family members what they did before Walmart

Re: Dollar stores make up nearly half of all new store openings in the U.S.

#14

Post by paulpauper »

mc32 wrote: post #10

It looks like a couple of things going on: 1. We have more people without much disposable income (which is composed of two populations: poor immigrants with few marketable skills, and two, poor Americans left behind due to shipping MFG overseas --going on for a while, jump-started by MFN status in the 90s). 2. People want cheap stuff. It's unfortunate. It means more disposable crap going into the landfill. Save up an…

iphones are pretty expensive and those go in landfills too

Same as 2008. a lot of ppl left behind in recovery, which benefits Walmart and dollar stores.

Re: Dollar stores make up nearly half of all new store openings in the U.S.

#16

Post by jcims »

It's not clear to me what the problem is that the article is outlining.

The Dollar General near me has the exact same brands as you would find in any larger retail establishment, they just have found a way to stock the 80% that folks typically need. They are filling a niche between the gas station convenience store and traditional grocery/big box retail. They don't have a produce section, just a bit of fruit. Is that the issue?

Are the small independent grocery stores in these communities stocking produce? Is Dollar General and the like creating some kind of price cartel that's putting them out of business? I know of two Dollar Generals near me, one in a small one-light town that previously only had a gas station convenience store and people had to drive 12 miles to get anything besides milk, condoms and beef jerky. The other on the outskirts of a small town that still has a thriving small grocery store in the middle of it.

Re: Dollar stores make up nearly half of all new store openings in the U.S.

#17

Post by paulpauper »

helsinkiandrew wrote: post #4

Good article and discussion about the economics of these "Leeches of the poor": https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27650477 TLDR: The products in Dollar Stores aren't 'cheap' in the sense that they cost less than other stores per unit - its just that they're (mostly) packaged into smaller units that people living paycheck to paycheck can afford.

It's a bad deal, marketed to ppl who either cannot do math or afford larger quantities

Re: Dollar stores make up nearly half of all new store openings in the U.S.

#18

Post by acover »

cm2187 wrote: post #15

Stupid question from someone who doesn’t live in the US. Do they actually only sell sub-$1 products? It seems they have been operating for 30y. Inflation must severely restrict the range of products you can offer over such a long time.

No

Re: Dollar stores make up nearly half of all new store openings in the U.S.

#19

Post by jcims »

cm2187 wrote: post #15

Stupid question from someone who doesn’t live in the US. Do they actually only sell sub-$1 products? It seems they have been operating for 30y. Inflation must severely restrict the range of products you can offer over such a long time.

No and I think the article is banking on this confusion.

Dollar General is like a micro walmart and stocks the exact same stuff for more or less the same prices. They are actually great little stores that, around me anyway, service communities that would otherwise have to drive 10+ miles to get what they need most of the time.

Re: Dollar stores make up nearly half of all new store openings in the U.S.

#20

Post by zwieback »

ybean wrote: post #13
seibelj wrote: post #7

The gut-reaction is that this is some horrible thing rather than a scalable business model that provides low-cost goods to customers in rural areas that were previously underserved. My family in rural Oklahoma and Texas have to drive over an hour to Wal Mart, the dollar stores have a similar but curated subset of goods at a cheap price, and the distance is much closer. HN monoculture loves to crap all over things lik…

Your example is already biased, because you use Walmart as the other option. Walmart already came through and blew away the local mom and pop market in these rural areas. Are they more convenient than driving an hour to a walmart? probably. I've seen small family run stores go out of business specifically because they can't compete with a dollar general that opened a mile away. "Deeply beneficial" seems like a strong…

This is assuming "mom and pop stores" are beneficial. We certainly like them when driving through picturesque small towns but I know a lot of people living in those towns that prefer an efficient supplier. They understand what they lose but prefer to save money on their shopping trips.
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