U.S. low-price shops pursue real-estate expansion: WSJ

NEW YORK, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) — U.S. dollar stores, where prices are very low and buying cost-effective, are contending with slowing sales and weaker earnings, but this is not stopping them from pursuing an aggressive real-estate expansion, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported earlier this week.
“Dollar General and Dollar Tree, the nation’s largest dollar-store chains, are together on track to open more than 1,300 new locations this fiscal year,” said the report. “That is down from last year. But it still far outpaces other retailers’ expansions, reflecting dollar-store executives’ belief that new stores are the key to juicing sales and capturing market share.”
The openings come as dollar stores grapple with slowing spending from their core low-income customers and growing competition from other discount retailers. Dollar stores, which are largely in-person shopping experiences, are also at a strategic disadvantage when it comes to e-commerce, according to the report.
Rivals such as Walmart and Target have invested heavily in recent years to integrate physical stores with online shopping through delivery services and in-store or curbside pickup of items ordered online, it said.
“Dollar stores historically thrive during periods of economic uncertainty such as the recent period of high inflation,” noted the report. Dollar Tree posted record-high sales during the 2008-09 financial crisis. In 2020, a rise in unemployment at the start of the pandemic boosted Dollar General as customers sought out cheaper groceries and household essentials. ■