Dollar and General Merchandise Stores
Industry Profile Report
Dive Deep into the industry with a 25+ page industry report (pdf format) including the following chapters
Industry Overview Current Conditions, Industry Structure, How Firms Operate, Industry Trends, Credit Underwriting & Risks, and Industry Forecast.
Call Preparation Call Prep Questions, Industry Terms, and Weblinks.
Financial Insights Working Capital, Capital Financing, Business Valuation, and Financial Benchmarks.
Industry Profile Excerpts
Industry Overview
The 8,057 dollar and discount stores in the US sell a wide variety of merchandise at low, fixed price points, often in dollar increments. Merchandise includes everyday necessities and impulse items. By offering a limited number of items per merchandise category, firms maintain purchasing power and keep costs and prices low.
Low Prices Limit Flexibility
The value proposition of a dollar store is based on low, fixed retail price points (“Everything’s $1!”), which limit a company’s flexibility when costs rise.
Inventory Shrinkage and Theft
The operating model for dollar stores, which is based on small stores, crowded shelves overflowing with merchandise, a high number of cash transactions, and minimal staffing, makes operators vulnerable to inventory shrinkage and crime.
Industry size & Structure
The average dollar and discount store company operates out of a single location, employs about 67 workers, and generates about $9 million annually.
- The dollar and discount store industry consists of about 8,060 firms that operate over 45,000 establishments, employ 540,000 workers and generate about $75 billion annually.
- The industry is highly concentrated; the top 50 companies account for over 90% of industry revenue.
- Large firms include Dollar Tree (Family Dollar), Dollar General, and Five Below.
Industry Forecast
Dollar and General Merchandise Stores Industry Growth
Recent Developments
Nov 15, 2024 - Retail Sector, Employment Growth
- Economic activity in the services sector including the retail sector expanded in October 2024, according to the Services ISM Report on Business. The Services PMI registered 56% in October, up 1.1 percentage points from September, marking the fourth consecutive month of expansion. Of the 14 of the 18 services industries reporting growth in October, Retail Trade reported the fastest growth during the period. Producer inflation for other general merchandise retailers, including dollar stores, increased 3.1% in September 2024 compared to a year ago, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Employment by all other general merchandise retailers grew 2.7% in September 2024 year over year while average wages for nonsupervisory employees increased 1.5% during the period.
- A new study by the National Retail Federation (NRF) of the estimated impact of president-elect Donald Trump’s tariff proposals shows the tariffs could increase costs of major consumer product categories including apparel, toys, furniture, household appliances, footwear, and travel goods. The study looked at the impact of Trump’s proposed universal 10-20% tariff on imports from all countries and an additional tax on imports from China. Per the study, consumers would pay $13.9 billion to $24 billion more for apparel, $8.8 billion to $14.2 billion more for toys, $8.5 billion to $13.1 more for furniture, and $6.4 billion to $10.9 billion more for household appliances with the proposed tariffs in place. The study showed the tariffs would have a “significant and detrimental impact” on the costs of a wide range of consumer products, in particular those products supplied primarily by China. According to Jonathan Gold, NRF vice president of supply chain and customs policy, “Retailers rely heavily on imported products and manufacturing components so that they can offer their customers a variety of products at affordable prices. A tariff is a tax paid by the U.S. importer, not a foreign country or the exporter. This tax ultimately comes out of consumers’ pockets through higher prices.”
- According to the latest shopping metrics from Numerator in Chain Store Age, 80% of US households shop at Dollar Tree annually compared to 60% at Dollar General. Shoppers tend to spend more at Dollar General, $513 per year, compared to $288 per year at Dollar Tree. Numerator data showed that Dollar General shoppers are 81% more likely to live in a rural area and are 17% more likely to be boomers or older.
- Consumer confidence levels increased in October 2024, improving in all five components of the Consumer Confidence Index, according to The Conference Board. The index was 108.7 in October 2024 from 99.2 in September 2024. Dana Peterson, chief economist at The Conference Board, noted that confidence was the highest among those between the ages of 35 to 54 and those in the income category of over $100,000. Per Peterson, “Consumer confidence recorded the strongest monthly gain since March 2021, but still did not break free of the narrow range that has prevailed over the past two years.” Plans to purchase homes and new cars rose on a six-month average basis.
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