Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

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

nextcity.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

171–180 of 261 posts

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

#171

Post by jandrewrogers »

safog wrote: post #40
jcims wrote: post #16

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…

After a couple of levels of indirection, I think the whole argument hinges on one anecdote. It might indicate a general pattern, but no actual authoritative sources back it up. Original Article quotes "growing evidence suggests these stores are not merely a byproduct of economic distress. They’re a cause of it. In small towns and urban neighborhoods alike, dollar stores are triggering the closure of grocery stores, e…

There is a presumption here that "local" grocery stores are an unalloyed good. In my experience, having grown up in these kinds of places, they were often more exploitive and extractive than the national chains. When Walmart rolls into town, many times it breaks a local monopoly that used this fact to its advantage with both customers and employees.

A problem in the US is that there are many thousands of communities that are below the size/density threshold where the traditional Walmart model makes sense. Dollar General seems to be well-optimized to fill this part of the market.

Another nice thing about national chains is that they mostly stay out of community politics. Local monopoly business owners have a bad tendency to leverage that status into completely unrelated political and personal matters.

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

#172

Post by moriarty-s3a »

mc32 wrote: post #35
RcouF1uZ4gsC wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Save up and buy something that will last. Unfortunately, just because somethings costs more doesn’t mean it will last more. Maybe in the past there were brands that prides themselves on durability, but now most of the stuff seems not to really consider durability and longevity, and the financially smart move might just be to buy the cheapest thing that works and plan on replacing it when it breaks.

There is something to that. But consider household tools like Craftsman (had lifetime warranty). Now Craftsman is cheaply made with poor metallurgy and has a limited warranty. People will buy that at the HomeDepot. Sure, you can buy more reliable brands, but most people like you say won't know which ones to buy since many have been shipped overseas. Furniture is now disposable. Clothing is disposable (even if you did…

This isn't new and your example is a good one. Craftsman tools have always been cheaply made with poor metallurgy. They got by with the lifetime warranty because they marketed themselves at consumers who don't rely on their tools and don't use them very often. At least as far back as the 1950s and 1960s, people whose job depended on their tools wouldn't touch Craftsman.

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

#173

Post by milsorgen »

kktkti9 wrote: post #169
sokoloff wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Dollar General comes in and offers local consumers a bargain that local consumers strongly prefer. Accordingly, local consumers vote with their feet. Unless the master plan is to run competitors out of town and then change to "Two Dollar General", it seems like Dollar General is good for consumers (at least if you judge by consumers' own revealed preferences).

These places exacerbate material waste and trivial spending. Dollar objects get replaced much faster than better quality objects. They’re manipulating that “new purchase” high similar to Facebook juicing us via likes.

This is absolutely true but if you pay attention you can save money. Make a cheap lunch for work, gift bag for a birthday, quick emergency repair but just as much you see people spending 30 bucks on a bucket load of crap. Its really on the consumers shoulders to maximize the utility of their retail options. But that takes time and effort and all of us only have so much if any effort to give. I mean is it better to spend ten minutes to save a dollar or save ten minutes and spend an extra dollar?

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

#174

Post by heavyset_go »

jcims wrote: post #32
singlow wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think many believe that the dollar store preys on shoppers who may think they are getting a better deal, but don't realize that the unit price is not better for many items, and often in deceptive ways.

That type of 'dollar store' is basically defunct (edit: must be a local phenomenon) Family Dollar and Dollar General are essentially small Wal-Marts and sell products for approximately the same price.

There are over 15,000 Dollar Tree stores in the US that operate on the "$1 for each item" model.

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

#175

Post by massysett »

lotsofpulp wrote: post #50
pasttense01 wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Note the other stores mentioned: Walmart, Target and Costco--all discount stores. When you compare prices to convenience stores or drug stores the Dollar Stores are much cheaper. And when you look at Walmart, Target and Costco remember time is money. And it takes significantly longer to shop at Walmart, Target and Costco (the long walks to and from your car, the long walk in the store itself, the waits at the cashier…

How often are people going to Walmart/Target/Costco that walking time is a material factor? I make weekly Costco runs and my total time car door back to car door is 15 minutes or less. I just order for pickup at Target, but even if I had to find the item, I can just see what aisle the product is in in the app and grab it and go within 10 minutes easy. On the other hand, Dollar Tree or Dollar General is probably only…

There's absolutely a difference. Going to Costco is a monumental hassle compared to Dollar General. They have few locations so for most people it's a farther drive. There's a line of cars snaking around the place waiting to buy gas. The parking lot is huge and I have to walk through it. Once inside, I have to pass the giant-screen TVs and half a warehouse of rarely-purchased items before I get to the food. All the food is in huge units. Often the lines at checkout are extremely long, and then there's another line to have my receipt checked before I get out. Then I have to load the stuff into my car - they don't bag it. Oh - and I paid a membership fee to experience all this!

Dollar General has many multiples more locations, and I can park right in front of the door. I'm in Costco every week and it's fine but yes, that walking time combined with everything else is definitely a factor.

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

#177

Post by kennywinker »

greedo wrote: post #152
kennywinker wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well if the choice is nothing or DG, of course everyone is going to pick DG. And you're right that's the choice many communities are facing. But it wouldn't take much tweaking at a policy level (civic, state, federal) to change that equation and bring business that actually support the community (jobs, high-nutrition and more local products, a venue for community building events, etc). The fact that the choice is DG…

What policy changes would "fix" the problem you're portraying? I see nothing simple, and definitely nothing that would just be a tweak to existing policies.

Well, i’m not in the local grocery business, but some avenues i would explore are: tariffs on importing mostly single use soon-to-be-trash from china - something that would cut into their business model in a big way. Decent antitrust to prevent some of the monopolistic practices that mean DG and Walmart can get better deals from distributors. Requiring a livable wage for the one or two cashiers might be enough, honestly. I’m sure there are plenty of others i’m unaware of. The systems we have are what enable this business to exist, and make it hard for healthier (both in terms of food sold and their impact on communities) business to exist.

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

#178

Post by nimbius »

jcims wrote: post #16

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…

>They don't have a produce section, just a bit of fruit. Is that the issue?

42% of the united states is overweight. nearly 20% of children are obese. dollar stores could be seen to directly undermine US health policy by displacing larger grocery stores and encouraging unhealthy consumption of overprocessed foods high in sugar salt and fat. "filling a niche" is an idea the marketing department came up with to justify selling garbage.

the lack of access to food (food deserts) and a healthy balanced diet are direct contributors to obesity and its myriad of comorbidities. They disproportionately affect people of colour and low income communities, and have been correlated with income inequality and the wealth gap across racial boundaries as well.

unpopular opinion: the "wealthy" version of the dollar store is Trader Joes in that both cater to the american "idea" of cooking food moreso than actually preparing a meal. Both rely on processed and frozen offerings of sugar salt and fat that present a reconstituted/reheated 'cooking' experience as opposed to actual cookery involving fresh ingredients and thoughtful planning. many people have a favourite product at these places, but few people can conceive of a favourite recipe they assemble from ingredients sourced at either.

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

#179

Post by jasonhansel »

handrous wrote: post #154
jcims wrote: post #16

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…

One weird thing I've noticed about Dollar General is that they seem to get special versions of many products. Like sizes of food items/containers that I've never seen anywhere else. I wonder if there are other differences in what they're shipped. Like how "outlet stores" get shittier versions of brand-name clothes.

IIRC, there are two primary reasons why dollar stores are cheaper:

1. Dollar stores do (as you say) offer products in much smaller sizes. This isn't necessarily bad for consumers: if you don't have the money to pay for extra product, it's to your benefit to shop at a store that lets you buy in smaller increments.

2. Dollar stores have no fixed inventory. They buy whatever brand is the cheapest at any given time, rather than trying to stock the same brands consistently. This leads to them often having unusual versions of products that aren't available elsewhere.

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

#180

Post by gunapologist99 »

What point is this article trying to make? Dollar Generals and Family Dollars are not "dollar stores".

The data doesn't align with their conclusions; the article even admits that "Five Below", which are basically toy stores where everything is exactly $5, aren't "technically dollar stores", so clearly they must know that Dollar Generals and Family Dollars aren't either, which makes the whole headline fall apart.

Is this nextcity.org a political advocacy organization or something?

Post reply on HN