Dollar stores want customers to feel like they’re on a treasure hunt.Īccording to Moody’s, an earnings and credit analysis firm, Dollar General rotates its inventory on a regular basis to make customers feel like they need to buy items now in case they’re not around later-perpetuating what it calls a "treasure hunt" feel. They are often busy and have other plans for the day and don't want to spend too much time wandering the store.” 3. Customers “tend to want to get in and out fast. “Planning the store around fast trips is one good way to improve the fast experience many customers are looking for, while also keeping sales high by allowing customers to see many products,” Hank, an assistant Dollar Tree store manager in Canada says. But having limited space with easily accessible items is by design-the average shopping trip for a Dollar General store is just 10 minutes. Scott Olson/Getty Imagesĭollar stores typically have little signage, few frills, and a small real estate footprint (Dollar General's is around 7300 square feet, or one-tenth the size of a Walmart). Dollar stores know you won't be shopping for too long.Ī customer at a Dollar Tree in Chicago, Illinois. (Like a lot of their inventory, the chain likely gets a tremendous discount for buying the papers in bulk.) 2. While the former is a pretty obvious necessity, newspapers at her location are typically cheaper than in other stores the Sunday edition in particular is up to two or three dollars cheaper. At her store, toilet paper and the local newspaper are the top sellers. “The items that my employees and I purchase at Dollar Tree for value would definitely be toilet paper, paper towels, birthday cards, candy, balloons, plastic ware, paper plates, envelopes, products, and the daily newspaper,” she says. At least, that's what employees buy most frequently. Assortments can vary widely by store and by franchise, but according to Brenda, the store manager of a Dollar Tree in the Midwest, customers get the best deal sticking with paper products. You can find practically anything at dollar stores, including frozen food (more on that in a moment), toys, and cleaning products. Paper goods are the best deal in dollar stores. Here’s what they had to say about stocking their shelves, fanatical customers, and why they spend so much time filling up balloons. To get a better sense of the activity that surrounds these wallet-friendly outlets, Mental Floss spoke to three employees of Dollar Tree. In recent years, the country has experienced a wave of frugal storefronts selling everything from stationary to seafood. Discount retailers have probably been around as long as commerce itself, but it wasn't until the 1950s that a string of stores began popping up in the South that shared a common element: Everything they sold was dirt-cheap.
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