Next time you pass a Dollar Store in the US (including Dollar Tree and Dollar General) observe the parking lot. In towns rich and not so rich you’ll find that the parking lot is full most of the time.If you have not gone into a Dollar Store recently – do so and then compare the merchandise to Walmart. For a dollar the quality is not bad.
Dollar Stores took off after the 2008 recession and there are more Dollar Stores than McDonald’s in the USA. Between Dollar Tree and Dollar General there are 30,000 stores and these are very densely seen in the mid-west and the farmlands of middle America. A recent article “Sign of hope or worry- when the dollar store comes to town” describes the mixed bag that these stores are for local communities.