Those living in the Northeast and West, however, did not rank their positive impact as high, with positive perceptions of the stores in the mid-50 percent range. Midwestern residents’ attitudes were roughly the same. Residents from Southern states viewed all three dollar stores more favorably than the public overall, with more than 6 in 10 saying the stores have a positive community impact. The average family that shops at dollar stores makes less than $50,000 a year, according to a 2015 study. The stores strategically set up in predominantly low-income neighborhoods, Elizabeth Racine, an associate professor of public health at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, said in an interview on Oct. Much of that may have to do with location.
The stores disappear from top 10 lists among those making $75,000 or more. 24 interview when asked about localized giving.Īll three dollar stores ranked within the top 10 brands on community impact among those making less than $20,000 per year, per the Morning Consult rankings. “We give back to the communities who support us,” a Dollar General representative said during an Oct. When reached for comment, both Dollar General and Dollar Tree emphasized their charitable giving but declined to directly comment on the results of Morning Consult’s surveys. (Dollar Tree purchased Family Dollar in 2015.) “I don’t think it’s part of the culture of those companies to say, ‘Look at what we’re doing,’” said Strong.ĭollar stores also provide employment to rural areas that might not have many jobs, especially opportunities that offer advancement within a larger corporation, Strong said. The dollar stores offer different charitable contributions: Dollar General puts much of its giving into the Dollar General Literacy Foundation, a nearly 25-year-old program aimed at helping employees and customers within 20 miles of its stores tackle education and literacy issues Dollar Tree generally focuses on assisting military families and helping finance employees’ collegiate goals and Family Dollar concentrates on small grants to local community groups that provide basic necessities, such as local food banks.īut you won’t find every clothing drive on the dollar stores’ press pages. These small contributions are usually felt around the corner - not read across the country. Strong attributes this to the idea that Wal-Mart siphons sales from local, downtown retailers, though he said discussion has slowly pivoted to place more blame on Amazon. Sixty-five percent said the company has a positive impact - but another 13 percent said it has a negative one. The public also has favorable views of Wal-Mart’s community offerings. For example, Wal-Mart has given more than $35 million to the American Red Cross since 2007, and announced in August that it would donate up to $20 million for Hurricane Harvey victims. “Each of the three dollar stores have thought pretty carefully about their community support strategy - and they’ve localized it,” Strong said, noting that this strategy is “almost 180 degrees” from that of bigger retailers, which donate larger sums of money to national or international organizations or causes. And the stores continue to prosper after the recession, as people still value lower-priced options.ĭollar stores not only have the quantitative edge, but the stores engage with local communities in a way Target and Wal-Mart do not, Strong said in an interview on Oct. Dollar stores again flourished during the Great Recession, according to analysis conducted by John Strong, a professor of business, economics and finance at the College of William & Mary. Turner and Son Wholesale store, which would later evolve into Dollar General, opened in Scottsville, Ky., in 1939, on the heels of the Great Depression.
Dollar stores usually boom during times of economic instability, said Louis Hyman, director of the Institute for Workplace Studies at Cornell University, in an Oct. Woolworth Company’s stores, one of the original “five-and-dimes,” were founded in 1879. restaurants, according to a company representative.)ĭollar stores also outnumber Wal-Mart stores roughly five to one.ĭiscount retailers have long been a part of Americana, catering to the financially mindful consumer. restaurants in the country. (McDonald’s has 14,000 U.S. That’s nearly double the number of McDonald’s Corp. Combined, there are more than 27,000 Dollar General, Dollar Tree and Family Dollar stores in the continental United States.
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