One of the biggest discount chains built their reputation offering thousands of products for only $1, but Dollar Tree is changing to increase the price on most products in response to economic pressure.
There are a ton of different discount retailers across the nation, but Dollar Tree had an edge on the competition with everything in their store costing $1 while others varied in discounted prices. Though their pricing model made them unique, Dollar Tree might be joining the competition as they are raising the prices on certain products to maintain financial stability.
Dollar Stores first became popular after World War II as the nation was directing nearly all funding towards the war efforts with more people opting to shop at discount retailers. The Dollar Tree was founded in1986 and was one of many discount retailers but over the years was able to maintain their pricing standards, until now.
Throughout the international pandemic, Dollar Tree has struggled to keep up with the rising costs of consumer goods associated with inflation and supply chain issues such as labor and freight costs that will gradually impact the consumer. In this case, the consumer will be paying the price of these issues with the Dollar Tree raising prices on certain items to more than$1 to meet demand with over 15,000 stores nationwide.
Dollar Tree disclosed that items can increase by 25 to 50cents or even higher depending on the item value and has acknowledged this rise in cost is a response to changes in the rising costs in the supply chain. This change is also being seen by Wall Street as investors have pressured the discount chain to raise their prices and the stock price is soaring in response to this change.
The Dollar Tree released a statement saying, “For decades our customers have enjoyed the thrill of the hunt for value at one dollar – and we remain committed to that core proposition – but many are telling us they also want a broader assortment when they come to shop.” Dollar Tree is limited on having a broader assortment of products due to the limitations in cost and their new price model will address the customer demand.
For now, it seems the consumer will continue to see price raise in the store due to all the external factors putting pressure on the economy as a whole including the Dollar Tree with experts estimating the inflation to last through 2022. As these developments unfold it is uncertain whether the discount chain will lower the prices depending on the financial stability of the company.