Dollar Tree Raising Prices

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Re: Dollar Tree Raising Prices

Post by cjd »

I did enjoy browsing Dollar Tree once in a while just for fun and would usually pick up one or two items just because. I have found over the last few years that they just don't have much of a selection or merchandise mix that I thought they used to. (Maybe it's just me).

Their second location that they opened here earlier this year seems to have a much better selection though. Not sure if it's just a bigger store or what, but it just seems to have more and it's never as busy as the other. I rarely have to wait in line like the other location at checkout.

Parking is abysmal though as the parking lot is just too small (it was a former Pier 1 Imports that rarely got a lot of traffic at once) and there's also no turning lane off the freeway. But I've learned to park in another adjacent small parking lot in the back off a side street, and just walk around the side of the building. Much easier to get in and out that way.

There's also a small adjacent strip mall that has a few shops that I like to browse sometimes, so I usually hit them all at the same time on the way in to Dollar Tree since I'm already there.
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Re: Dollar Tree Raising Prices

Post by Alpha8472 »

The Dollar Tree stores near me used to be very busy with long lines. In the past few months, the customers have disappeared. There are no more crowds and the stores seem to be really quiet. The prices have not yet increased, but the items appear to smaller and lower in quality. The shrink ray has made these items really small to maintain the $1 price point. The quality has gone down and some items seem to be made by totally different manufacturers.
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Re: Dollar Tree Raising Prices

Post by storewanderer »

Dollar Tree seems to be suffering a lot from the labor shortages; many locations are not stocked well. The mix of items doesn't seem different than before; they've even added an attractive aisle of "crafting" items to many stores which are an excellent price point compared to other stores for the same items. The issue is more they just can't get their shelves stocked. Whether the bottleneck is in the supply chain or at the store, when the popular fast moving items are not stocked, the store comes off as pretty much junk.

I too was recently in a newly opened Dollar Tree and it was fully stocked and not real busy yet. So I really think it isn't that the mix has changed as much as issues getting the items on the shelf. It was also about the largest Dollar Tree I've ever seen.

Various items have downsized, yes, but they downsized at all retailers. For instance the entry level Palmolive Dish Soap- this is around 1.29-1.59 at the chain drugstores (all of them run it on sale about every other week around .99 and usually there is a coupon too on top of that sale) and used to be 10 oz. Now it is 8 oz. Dollar Tree got that downsize too, just like the drugstores did. Have seen similar in bagged candy, etc. Where there is a noticeable size decrease at Dollar Tree is with oddly sized paper products and detergents.
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Re: Dollar Tree Raising Prices

Post by mbz321 »

storewanderer wrote: October 24th, 2021, 8:17 pm Dollar Tree seems to be suffering a lot from the labor shortages; many locations are not stocked well.
I'm amazed the Dollar Tree's in my area are staffed at all. Out of all the retailers, they pay the absolute least, like barely above minimum wage (which is still a laughable $7.25 in PA). For a several week period, a few locations near me were closing after 4 PM as they had no night staff.
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Re: Dollar Tree Raising Prices

Post by storewanderer »

mbz321 wrote: October 26th, 2021, 8:12 am
storewanderer wrote: October 24th, 2021, 8:17 pm Dollar Tree seems to be suffering a lot from the labor shortages; many locations are not stocked well.
I'm amazed the Dollar Tree's in my area are staffed at all. Out of all the retailers, they pay the absolute least, like barely above minimum wage (which is still a laughable $7.25 in PA). For a several week period, a few locations near me were closing after 4 PM as they had no night staff.
Dollar Tree managers have some latitude over the wages they hire people with experience at, if they want to take the latitude. I guess it is possible a bad district manager may put their foot down on that idea.
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Re: Dollar Tree Raising Prices

Post by storewanderer »

Okay, went into a Dollar Tree today that I go into fairly often. Large sign upon entry with their logo modified to show "1.10" and a written notice that all items in the store are now priced at 1.10. The sign also alluded to additional merchandise options being allowed due to the price hike.

I was told this is a test store and there are several others in the area but most locations have not done this price hike yet.

It is the same messy, poorly stocked, poorly staffed store as it was two weeks ago when everything cost $1 and has the same exact merchandise in it as it had before when everything cost $1. Nothing new has been added and they have not even thrown a few bones out there to make the consumer think that the consumer is getting something out of this price hike.

To add further insult the price hike to 1.10 also added another cent of sales tax to the total cost.
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Re: Dollar Tree Raising Prices

Post by Brian Lutz »

Dollar Tree has announced that the standard price for merchandise in the store will be raised to $1.25 by the end of April 2022:

https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/23/investin ... index.html
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Re: Dollar Tree Raising Prices

Post by storewanderer »

Brian Lutz wrote: November 23rd, 2021, 2:01 pm Dollar Tree has announced that the standard price for merchandise in the store will be raised to $1.25 by the end of April 2022:

https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/23/investin ... index.html
I guess $1.10 wasn't enough.

They may as well just go to a single format at this point.

I am sure Wal Mart will follow them right up on basic entry level items too, many of which Wal Mart has kept at .94 .98 etc. to beat the 1.00 price at Dollar Tree. Things like basic kitchen tools, masking tape, etc.

I also wonder how this will impact the Canada Dollar Tree; they already used a 1.25 price point. Will they go to 1.50?

I expect the price hike to 1.25 will not go well for Dollar Tree. A 25% price hike is pretty difficult and they are going to need to improve their product mix/offer or this is going to come off very badly. It will be interesting to see if competitors follow them up or try to keep 1.00 price points to lure customers away. By competitors I am taking Dollar General, and the various grocers who like doing 1.00 sales.
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Re: Dollar Tree Raising Prices

Post by mbz321 »

storewanderer wrote: November 23rd, 2021, 5:05 pm

I expect the price hike to 1.25 will not go well for Dollar Tree. A 25% price hike is pretty difficult and they are going to need to improve their product mix/offer or this is going to come off very badly. It will be interesting to see if competitors follow them up or try to keep 1.00 price points to lure customers away. By competitors I am taking Dollar General, and the various grocers who like doing 1.00 sales.
I honestly don't think it will have any huge effect. The price of everything everywhere has gone up, so I think many won't even really notice an extra 25 cents, as long as Dollar Tree doesn't further reduce package sizes like they have been doing. Their clientele doesn't really have many other options to begin with. Hopefully they take the extra earnings, boost employee wages, and clean up their stores. Several locations around me close at 5PM or thereabouts due to lack of staff.
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Re: Dollar Tree Raising Prices

Post by storewanderer »

mbz321 wrote: November 23rd, 2021, 5:44 pm

I honestly don't think it will have any huge effect. The price of everything everywhere has gone up, so I think many won't even really notice an extra 25 cents, as long as Dollar Tree doesn't further reduce package sizes like they have been doing. Their clientele doesn't really have many other options to begin with. Hopefully they take the extra earnings, boost employee wages, and clean up their stores. Several locations around me close at 5PM or thereabouts due to lack of staff.
Maybe the increase is so drastic that even if they lose quite a few customers, those who stick around and pay the higher price, will make up for the ones who left.

I will be more interested to see what competitors do. Many items at Dollar Tree were not exactly a deal at 1.00 to begin with. At 1.25 now you are moving into "overpriced" territory.
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