Dollar General and the like.....

[veteran+]

https://www.supermarketnews.com/retail- ... against-it


"Forbes said discount outlets like Dollar General and Dollar Tree sell products that cost shoppers more per unit price."

[wnetmacman]

I don't really feel that this is a surprise at all. I've known for many years that retailers purposely leverage buying power to get sizes and the like to fit their market. Just look around Dollar Tree and Dollar General all day, and you'll never find the size you can get from Walmart or your chosen supermarket. This is definitely by design. And why DG's margins are 7% higher than Walmart's. Plus there are a fraction of the employees at DG compared to what you find at Walmart.

[veteran+]

I don't really feel that this is a surprise at all. I've known for many years that retailers purposely leverage buying power to get sizes and the like to fit their market. Just look around Dollar Tree and Dollar General all day, and you'll never find the size you can get from Walmart or your chosen supermarket. This is definitely by design. And why DG's margins are 7% higher than Walmart's. Plus there are a fraction of the employees at DG compared to what you find at Walmart.

Not surprising to me as well, but many think they are getting a bargain and when you factor in "time", gasoline and the fact that you have to go to another retailer to finish your shop, you are actually losing money.

[wnetmacman]

Not surprising to me as well, but many think they are getting a bargain and when you factor in "time", gasoline and the fact that you have to go to another retailer to finish your shop, you are actually losing money.

That, also, is by design. If you drive through rural America, there are three to six dollar stores on average to every Walmart.

The suburb area that I live in has a Walmart, three Dollar Generals, two Family Dollars and a Dollar Tree. The Walmart is hardest to get to. Where do you stop first? Family Dollar, Dollar Tree and Dollar General. So they sell items that appear to be at a similar price point to Walmart, but the size is off, just by a little. But because they are buying on a similar scale, they buy themselves at a similar unit price point as Walmart. They have minimal payroll costs comparatively, so they profit far more on lower sales.

[storewanderer]

https://www.supermarketnews.com/retail- ... against-it


"Forbes said discount outlets like Dollar General and Dollar Tree sell products that cost shoppers more per unit price."

I don't think the people who write these articles understand what Dollar General is. It isn't the same format as Dollar Tree.

Dollar General sells the same products other stores sell... same stuff the major grocers, drug chains, Wal Mart, etc. sell. Same sizes.

Dollar Tree... yes... gets special sizes. Cost per unit on things like dish soap is often higher on their small size container than cost per unit on a larger size container at Wal Mart. This is nothing new, it has been this way basically forever. Some customers prefer smaller sizes. For instance on condiments if you never go through an entire container, the smaller size at Dollar Tree is perfect. For a senior citizen who is alone or has a hard time dealing with large packages/containers, the smaller size units of cleaning products at Dollar Tree are potentially worth a little extra cost vs. a bigger size. For someone who needs a limited amount of OTC medicine the oddball small sizes at Dollar Tree are again worth a little extra cost. And perhaps the biggest one is as I travel and run out of things like toothpaste, shampoo, whatever, I will often go to Dollar Tree to seek out their smaller size items as they are cheaper than travel size items in drugstores/Wal Mart. Another one is if you are buying junk food and have that "eat the whole bag" problem - the smaller sizes of candy/salty snacks at Dollar Tree are good for portion control purposes.

[wnetmacman]

I don't think the people who write these articles understand what Dollar General is. It isn't the same format as Dollar Tree.

Dollar General sells the same products other stores sell... same stuff the major grocers, drug chains, Wal Mart, etc. sell. Same sizes.

Dollar Tree... yes... gets special sizes. Cost per unit on things like dish soap is often higher on their small size container than cost per unit on a larger size container at Wal Mart. This is nothing new, it has been this way basically forever. Some customers prefer smaller sizes. For instance on condiments if you never go through an entire container, the smaller size at Dollar Tree is perfect. For a senior citizen who is alone or has a hard time dealing with large packages/containers, the smaller size units of cleaning products at Dollar Tree are potentially worth a little extra cost vs. a bigger size. For someone who needs a limited amount of OTC medicine the oddball small sizes at Dollar Tree are again worth a little extra cost. And perhaps the biggest one is as I travel and run out of things like toothpaste, shampoo, whatever, I will often go to Dollar Tree to seek out their smaller size items as they are cheaper than travel size items in drugstores/Wal Mart. Another one is if you are buying junk food and have that "eat the whole bag" problem - the smaller sizes of candy/salty snacks at Dollar Tree are good for portion control purposes.

I think they understand fully. And they aren't always the exact same item or size at DG. DG has grown to the point that they can dictate size and brands that they sell, and often do. If they are the same size, they're under a security screen where the store employee is alerted when someone gets one. DG is highly protective of their sales, even though it doesn't seem like it looking at the stores.

Dollar Tree, on the other hand, is vastly different. And now that vastly different product is spilling over into some Family Dollar stores selling at the same price point as their parent. Some stores are a FD/DT hybrid selling parts of both stores' merchandise under one roof, in a veiled effort (though I think wrongly so) to compete with the larger
DG Markets.

[pseudo3d]

More and more, I see Dollar General stores in the sticks, several miles away from the nearest town. While I'm sure Walmart is a better deal in price and quality, the convenience factor (and saving miles) is another thing that's not being factored in.

[veteran+]

Again and foremost it is about:


"Forbes said discount outlets like Dollar General and Dollar Tree sell products that cost shoppers more per unit price."

Folks shopping at these types of stores (for the most part, "income challenged") should be aware of the false "bargain", but for a plethora of reasons, are NOT.

In addition there is the Time $$$ wasting and the Gasoline $$$ wasting because perhaps the Full Shop was not accomplished.

[storewanderer]

Again and foremost it is about:


"Forbes said discount outlets like Dollar General and Dollar Tree sell products that cost shoppers more per unit price."

Folks shopping at these types of stores (for the most part, "income challenged") should be aware of the false "bargain", but for a plethora of reasons, are NOT.

In addition there is the Time $$$ wasting and the Gasoline $$$ wasting because perhaps the Full Shop was not accomplished.

But is the higher unit price even any different than what customers would see in any other store for the smallest size package available at any other store?

For instance if you can find it the (previously 10 ounce, then 8 ounce, now 7.5 ounce) Dawn or Palmolive at the drug store chains is about 1.99 (Walgreens 1.29 on the smallest Dawn trying to compete with Dollar Tree)... Wal Mart has these at 1.24 in a couple varieties... it is 1.25 at Dollar Tree. This small container is a higher per unit price than a 20 ounce container at any store.

There are many reasons to buy smaller packages. It is not always a false bargain. And if these publications are going to attack small size packages those comments apply to all retailers. Not only Dollar Tree.

I mean I don't use much milk so I often buy a pint of milk. 16oz 99cents. Kroger still sells pints unlike Safeway who charges more and downsized to 14oz. A whole gallon is in the 3.59 range. I am paying WAY more per unit for the pint. But it is all I can use within a week or so of purchase.

[veteran+]

People are often paying a higher cost per ounce or pound or 'each" or sheet or any other measurement and do not realize it.

Since not all retailers print that on their labels and many people do not do the math it makes things worse.

The shelf label requirements developed in response to scanning have been relaxed through the years since.