Grocery Stores NAICS 445110

Jun 14, 2025 - Dollar Stores Draw High-Income Shoppers

• Higher earners are flocking to dollar stores in search of discounts amid a contracting economy, The Wall Street Journal reports. Dollar Tree and Dollar General reported increased sales this spring due to an influx of middle- and upper-income customers, according to WSJ. Dollar Tree’s CEO told analysts that the company added 2.6 million new customers in its fiscal first quarter, with most coming from households with annual incomes above $100,000. Also, the CEO of Dollar General reported seeing increased “trade-in” activity from middle- and higher-income customers, while its core lower-income customer remains financially constrained. Years of high food price inflation have caused consumers to trade down by purchasing cheaper private label goods and shopping at discount grocery chains like Aldi and Walmart and dollar stores.
• Online grocery delivery orders soared in May, jumping more than 70% year over year from $2.2 to $3.9 billion, Supermarket News reports citing data from the Brick Meets Click Grocery Shopper Survey/Mercatus. Ship-to-home online sales rose 15% compared to May of last year, while online grocery pickup (including in-store, curbside, and lockers) fell about 3% over the same period. Overall, May online grocery sales totaled $8.7 billion, up 27% year over year, per the survey. Still, May’s $8.7 billion in online grocery sales marked the first time since August of last year that total monthly sales fell below $9.5 billion, which was blamed on seasonal variation in ordering. Delivery’s outperformance was driven by substantial gains in monthly active users driven by strong promotional activity, according to Supermarket News. Promotions for delivery that began last year paid off, per the report.

• One of the US’s largest supermarket operators is warning its suppliers that it won’t accept tariff-related cost increases, Supermarket News reports. An April letter from Albertsons’ head of merchandising to suppliers reads: “With few exceptions, we are not accepting cost increases due to tariffs,” adding “Suppliers are not permitted to include tariff-related costs in invoices without prior authorization by Albertsons Companies. Any invoices that include such charges without prior authorization will be subject to dispute and may result in payment delays.” Once submitted, the company will take up to 30 days to review the forms and approval is not guaranteed, per SN. While Albertsons says it sources 90% of its products domestically, even domestic purchases can be impacted by tariffs on imported ingredients. Product shortages could result if suppliers refuse to absorb losses, according to Consumer Affairs.
• In what could be the most significant overhaul to the nation's primary anti-hunger program in decades, House republicans are proposing sweeping changes to SNAP, the food assistance program for some 41 million low-income Americans, Newsweek reported in May. Proposed changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (aka SNAP or food stamps) include shifting costs to states, expanding work requirements, and curbing future benefit increases. The plan put forward by Republicans would impose cost-sharing requirements for states for the first time, and expand eligibility for work mandates, including for parents with school-age children, according to Newsweek. The Congressional Budget Office estimates $40 billion in savings from work requirement expansions alone. The National Grocers Association and other industry groups oppose the funding cuts, arguing they’ll affect both food access during a time of economic uncertainty and impact the US workforce. The NGA says the cuts would put heightened pressure on community grocers already operating with razor-thin margins.