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Dollar Tree says US$1.25 price point to become new standard

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Re: Dollar Tree says US$1.25 price point to become new standard

#141

Post by mmaurizi »

gkoberger wrote: post #118
0des wrote: post #4

This was inevitable, but rather than maintain the status quo or even introducing shrinkflation, they should have made the jump to 2 dollars. 1.25 is maintenance, and effectively we are still getting what a dollar used to get. 2 dollars would get us a bit more time (inflation is not going to stop) and the ability to introduce a (relative) more premium product assortment. I only mention this premium product range becau…

I think you're thinking of this from the wrong perspective. To me, an extra 75 cents don't really matter. I'd pay it without blinking. But to many people in the US, going from $1 to $2 would literally double their expenses for the month and hurt an already tight budget. "Kyle Dishman can’t afford to shop at the local grocery store anymore. Instead he goes to Dollar General, where he can make $40 stretch into a week’s…

Are you aware that Dollar Tree and Dollar General are different stores with different business models?

Dollar General does not price all their items for $1. I don't believe they ever have.

And Dollar Tree does not sell groceries (at least not any I've ever been to).

Re: Dollar Tree says US$1.25 price point to become new standard

#142

Post by moltar »

OJFord wrote: post #122
14 wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

With often same great sized packaging only with smaller amounts inside. Very wasteful. Deodorant, chips, pills, etc all look like a normal sized bottle but in reality is a smaller size for dollar stores. I have also heard things like canned goods of say a brand of soup they have special made for places like Costco that demand higher quality ingredients where the dollar store would get lower quality versions. Perhaps…

(Not from around there) Costco demands higher quality ingredients? I thought it was a low-end cheap bulk/wholesale place?

Costco is known for less of a choice, but whatever choice there is you can trust it to be of a higher quality.

When I go to Costco I definitely have my guard down and don’t vet and don’t scrutinize each product as much as i would do at other stores.

Re: Dollar Tree says US$1.25 price point to become new standard

#143

Post by tantalor »

gkoberger wrote: post #126

I don't think that people in this thread appreciate how prevalent grocery shopping in dollar stores is. In the US, half of shoppers buy groceries from a dollar store. They do it because it's literally all they can afford anything else. There are more dollar stores than Walmart, Starbucks and McDonald’s combined. "Kyle Dishman can’t afford to shop at the local grocery store anymore. Instead he goes to Dollar General,…

Dollar General is not a "dollar store"

> Even though Dollar General has the word “dollar” in its name, everything in the store doesn’t go for a buck; their merchandise is just low priced.

https://www.rd.com/article/dollar-tree-vs-dollar-general/

Re: Dollar Tree says US$1.25 price point to become new standard

#144

Post by dragonwriter »

gkoberger wrote: post #126

I don't think that people in this thread appreciate how prevalent grocery shopping in dollar stores is. In the US, half of shoppers buy groceries from a dollar store. They do it because it's literally all they can afford anything else. There are more dollar stores than Walmart, Starbucks and McDonald’s combined. "Kyle Dishman can’t afford to shop at the local grocery store anymore. Instead he goes to Dollar General,…

> They do it because it’s literally all they can afford anything else.

Dollar stores very often aren’t cheaper than other sources for similar products especially for grocery items (which they tend to have very limited selections of.)

People that shop for groceries at dollar stores do it because:

1. They shop for other things at dollar stores (either for price, or for reason #2, or because its the only place close by that carries the type of thing involved) and getting groceries there saves a trip,

2. Reputation for price without actual comparison,

3. Lack of actual grocery stores conveniently located,

Your own second article notes the relatively high prices (as well as quality issues) of dollar store groceries.

Re: Dollar Tree says US$1.25 price point to become new standard

#145

Post by tantalor »

gkoberger wrote: post #126

I don't think that people in this thread appreciate how prevalent grocery shopping in dollar stores is. In the US, half of shoppers buy groceries from a dollar store. They do it because it's literally all they can afford anything else. There are more dollar stores than Walmart, Starbucks and McDonald’s combined. "Kyle Dishman can’t afford to shop at the local grocery store anymore. Instead he goes to Dollar General,…

That quote is absurd. A Chrysler 300 is a luxury car.

Re: Dollar Tree says US$1.25 price point to become new standard

#146

Post by jbay808 »

echelon wrote: post #35
melony wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Globalisation happened, massive economies of scale in manufacturing.

And now globalization has equalized global workforces with purchase and compensation parity. Costs must rise. Money is to be made on trade and labor cost deltas, but those eventually, almost thermodynamically, equalize.

That's one thing. Also, China is no longer buying US treasuries, which for a long time contributed to reducing US inflation via underpriced imports.

Re: Dollar Tree says US$1.25 price point to become new standard

#147

Post by m0lecules »

reginold wrote: post #131
handrous wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My wife's preferred brand of pre-made iced tea recently slightly changed the packaging for their large-sized bottles. Checked, and sure enough, they dropped from 64oz to about 59oz. [EDIT] Oh, and in the case of Everything's a Dollar (used to be better than Dollar Tree, dunno if it's still around) and similar: as someone who got a lot of toys there as a kid and has been in a handful of times in the last few years for…

What are the economics like on prepared drinks? Seems like transporting a bunch of water around is wasteful and expensive. I guess the revenues are so much greater than costs it doesn't matter - but here we have them shrinking the portion size.

in that particular case, it boils down to how many you can fit on a pallet. if you get an extra row or column or both, you're now selling 550 bottles per pallet instead of 500.

Re: Dollar Tree says US$1.25 price point to become new standard

#148

Post by bluedino »

koolba wrote: post #27
kumarsw wrote: post #13

They have been selling for a dollar for 35 years. I'm really curious how their inventory has changed over this period. One 2020 dollar is 40 cents in 1985 dollars, but the cost of consumer goods has decreased significantly since 1985. So I wouldn't be surprised that their package sizes have not changed much. Related trivia: Between 1886-1959, the price of a bottle of Coke was a nickel [1]. [1] https://www.npr.org/sec…

Likely through shrinkflation: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shrinkflation Next time you’re at the supermarket check if the bacon brands you remember are still a pound. I bet many of them are now 12 ounces.

Dollar Tree sells $1 steak. They are like 3oz

Re: Dollar Tree says US$1.25 price point to become new standard

#149

Post by codazoda »

paulpauper wrote: post #37
koolba wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Likely through shrinkflation: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shrinkflation Next time you’re at the supermarket check if the bacon brands you remember are still a pound. I bet many of them are now 12 ounces.

by charging huge markup on per unit cost by reducing quantity. 3 pills of Tylenol for example for $1 instead of a bottle which may have dozens for $6 . The brands create special mini-sized packages specifically for dollar stores. Big business.

See Sharpie pens, which are sold at dollar stores with less ink.

Re: Dollar Tree says US$1.25 price point to become new standard

#150

Post by bluedino »

gkoberger wrote: post #126

I don't think that people in this thread appreciate how prevalent grocery shopping in dollar stores is. In the US, half of shoppers buy groceries from a dollar store. They do it because it's literally all they can afford anything else. There are more dollar stores than Walmart, Starbucks and McDonald’s combined. "Kyle Dishman can’t afford to shop at the local grocery store anymore. Instead he goes to Dollar General,…

If you want to save money on groceries you should be going to Aldi or Sav a Lot, not Dollar stores. Their products are terrible (mostly house brands) and prices aren't even good.
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