These facts about dollar stores will shock you! Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’ll be counting down our picks for the most surprising or good-to-be-reminded-about pieces of information about dollar stores.
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00:00 Cash-strapped shoppers are flocking to dollar stores.
00:03 Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most surprising
00:08 or good to be reminded about pieces of information about dollar stores.
00:12 "Look at the price!"
00:13 "Yes, absolutely."
00:14 "A dollar fifty?"
00:15 Number 10. Not everything is a dollar.
00:20 Our first fact may feel like the most obvious, but yeah,
00:23 it isn't always a guarantee that every item in a self-styled dollar store costs just a buck.
00:28 There's actually a precedent for this too, since dollar stores in Canada have been
00:32 charging more than a dollar for numerous items for years now.
00:35 Additionally, did you know that the Dollar General franchise isn't technically a simple dollar store?
00:40 It and other chains like Family Dollar typically offer products that start at a dollar
00:45 and can move upwards. The buck doesn't stop here, clearly.
00:48 "Weeeee!"
00:50 "This place is amazing!"
00:52 "Just like the good old days!"
00:54 Number 9. It all started with the five and ten.
00:57 Hey, you know how Bryan Adams famously references picking up his old six-string
01:00 at a five and dime in his song "Summer of '69"?
01:03 "Got my first real six-string, bought it at the five and dime."
01:08 These old-time affordable variety stores, sometimes also known as five and tens,
01:13 were essentially the precursors for modern-day dollar stores that sell an incredible multitude
01:18 of items. Affordable, low-end nickel and dime stores that gained huge popularity way back in
01:23 the day would eventually see their business model evolve into the dollar store model that's now
01:28 omnipresent. The more you know.
01:30 Number 8. Free shipping.
01:32 Thrifty shoppers looking to save even more bucks should be excited to hear our next fact.
01:37 Free shipping has been all the rage for years, with many consumers filling their online carts
01:42 in order to reach that minimum price point. But what if that price point is already super low?
01:47 It may seem too good to be true, and it's not home shipping, but the Dollar Tree chain
01:52 offers their customers the ability to order online and have their order shipped for free
01:57 to the local Dollar Tree store of their choice. This not only saves customers money, but could
02:02 also cut down on time for busy families.
02:05 Number 7. Location is a big deal.
02:08 Dollar stores don't always have such a positive effect on the local economies in which they're
02:12 located. "Introducing your new neighborhood dollar general." It's all similar to the ethical
02:17 questions of giant chains like Walmart, as many local mom-and-pop stores eventually get
02:22 pushed out by the predominance of dollar chains. "The company is bucking current retail trends
02:27 by expanding rapidly and opening stores away from population centers." These dollar stores
02:32 traditionally focus their market strategies in lower-income neighborhoods, to the point where
02:37 some states like Alabama keep close eyes upon exactly how many can open within a given area.
02:42 Additionally, the food deserts that can be exacerbated by dollar stores can result in
02:47 families being forced to shop for processed mass-market foods at the dollar store instead
02:52 of shopping more healthily. "Critics say dollar general strategies harm local communities
02:57 by not providing healthy food options and potentially hurting the local small business
03:01 economy." Number 6. Cleanliness can be an issue. So probably the last thing customers want to
03:07 think about are rodents. "Right now federal inspectors say they have found more than a
03:11 thousand rodents inside the same distribution center." Yet that's exactly the sort of unsettling
03:19 subject that came to light about the Family Dollar chain when the state of Arkansas flagged one of
03:23 their distribution centers for a rodent infestation. "Family Dollar is initiating a voluntary recall of
03:29 FDA-regulated products from stores in six states." The grossness doesn't stop there either, as the
03:36 dollar general chain has also been dinged in the past for sanitation and safety practices.
03:40 This has resulted in fines as well as a black eye in terms of how the realm of dollar stores
03:46 appears to the general public. "And the shelving that's stained or damaged beyond reasonable
03:50 standards needs to be replaced." Number 5. There's a lot of competition. There's only so much consumer
03:57 business to go around, as well as a lot of franchises all vying for a piece of the pie.
04:01 From the aforementioned Dollar Tree and Dollar General to Family Dollar and even Five Below,
04:06 there's a lot of competition going on for low prices. "Looks like you have everything you need
04:10 to kick off a great school year." But dollar stores overall don't only see things from a
04:15 bottom-line perspective, but also from a sociological one. Dollar stores essentially
04:20 bet on the old adage "times are hard" and tailor their business models to that, even if shoppers
04:26 at all income levels frequent dollar stores. "We deliver top brands at bargain prices." Number 4.
04:32 Working at a dollar store usually doesn't pay well. The phrase "minimum wage" doesn't necessarily
04:38 mean living wage, and nowhere is this more evident than in the work culture of a dollar store. "Hi,
04:44 you must be Ashley. It's great to have you with us." Employees who work at these sorts of places
04:49 tend to see wages on the low end of the spectrum and get fewer or no benefits than the average
04:54 retail worker. "Dollar General is hiring. We need people who are enthusiastic about our mission of
05:00 serving others." Additionally, these employees are often required to wear multiple hats rather
05:06 than specializing in just one job function. These harried, multitasking workers can, as a result,
05:11 not be in a position to offer the best service or keep the shelves properly stocked. "Take the
05:16 opportunity to be the face of the company." Number 3. Dollar stores outnumber Walmarts.
05:22 It seems almost inconceivable given how we as consumers usually think about retail giants like
05:27 Walmart. "There's more than four times as many Dollar Generals as there are Walmarts." It's true,
05:32 however. Dollar stores combined, in the most expansive sense of the term, simply have them beat
05:37 in terms of number of stores. "Dollar General surpassed Dollar Tree with over 17,000 stores
05:43 nationwide. That's more than Walmart and McDonald's combined." This doesn't mean that these dollar
05:48 chains don't struggle to compete with Walmart in terms of pricing. However, when you combine them
05:53 both, there are enough Dollar General and Dollar Tree stores to outnumber not only Walmart but other
05:59 major value retailers, including Costco, Kroger, even CVS and Walgreens. "Net sales at Dollar
06:06 General increased 21.6% in 2020 compared to the year prior, far outpacing the 1.9% increase at
06:14 Walmart." Number 2. You can find name brands. The inventory of many dollar stores can vary from
06:20 location to location, so it pays to shop around at any in your area. "All of the great brands you
06:25 love are there, with plenty of snacks, beverages, cookies and candy to stock your pantry day to day."
06:30 The ever-shifting nature of the marketplace means wholesalers and supply chains sometimes provide
06:35 name brand products to dollar stores in addition to the generic or unfamiliar labels one might find
06:40 browsing the aisles. However, smart shoppers should pay attention to the labels on these products,
06:45 since oftentimes it's a smaller sized option that's being made available to dollar stores.
06:50 As a result, the customer isn't really saving as much as they might think,
06:54 and might just be better off picking up that product somewhere else. "I have my favorites,
06:59 but just because I like big name brands doesn't mean I want to pay big time prices."
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07:19 Number 1. Dollar Stores Aren't Always the Best Value
07:23 This ties into our aforementioned discussion about well-known branded products and their
07:27 occasionally quirky sizing. The smartest shoppers always keep tabs on the unit prices of their
07:32 favorite products, not only at their go-to store, but at other options around town.
07:37 Big box stores, for example, can sometimes still end up coming out cheaper in the end versus the
07:41 dollar store, simply because they offer name brand products at their full sizes for a unit
07:46 price that's a better value. Plus, nearly every retailer possesses a file maintenance team that's
08:03 dedicated to keeping tabs on shelf tags, signs, and changing unit prices on a weekly basis.
08:09 In other words, keep your eyes open for the best value.
08:12 "Dollar Tree, which has tens of thousands of stores in North America,
08:16 announcing it'll be raising prices on most of its items."
08:19 Do you shop at dollar stores? Have you ever worked in one?
08:22 Let us know your experience in the comments.
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