Dollar Tree and Dollar General see increased traffic with different approaches to pricing

The two biggest US dollar stores saw increased traffic in Q2, but how they hooked their customers with pricing and assortment varied in some significant ways.

While Dollar Tree expanded the range of price points available at stores with its new multi-price strategy, Dollar General kept it old-school by doubling down on $1 or less.

For both retailers, the proof for these approaches is in the numbers.

Touting a 5.2% in net sales for the quarter, Dollar General executives highlighted the success of its namesake price point and shared plans to make it 40% of all SKUs in the second half of the year, according to Chief Operating Officer Emily Taylor in an earnings call last week.

Currently, the discount chain offers more than 2,000 items at $1 or less, with 600 of those falling into its Value Valley aisle, a rotating set of 600 items that outperformed the store overall. Comparable sales in Value Valley increased 16% in Q2, compared to same-store sales of 3.5% for the entire store. It also expanded its off-shelf displays of $1 items in 9,000 stores, where comp sales outpaced the overall chain.

“We’re excited about our plans for an expanded $1 presence in our fall and holiday set in the back half of the year,” CEO Todd Vasos said during an earnings call. “We know this price point is important to our customers.”

He added that 2027 will see even more of an emphasis on that $1 price point.

At Dollar Tree, meanwhile, the name of the game is flexibility. Rather than $1 items, an increase in the average ticket amount and higher “multi-price penetration” fueled a 3.7% bump in comparable sales, CFO Stewart Glendinning noted in the earnings call.

However, Dollar Tree’s multi-price approach doesn’t necessarily exclude the $1 price point. CEO Michael Creedon told shareholders, “There’s nothing preventing us from maintaining a $1 price point within the assortment.”

“Ultimately, multi-price is not about moving away from our heritage,” he added. “It’s about giving us more flexibility to drive the value, convenience and discovery that has always been our heritage and will always be our heritage.”