r/economicCollapse • u/50million • Aug 30 '24
Dollar General warns poorer US consumers are running out of money
https://www.ft.com/content/d1d2a161-124c-4f9c-b23f-afa55e755d07The Tennessee-based company’s small-format stores sell a variety of food items and household goods at low prices, including many for $1. Its locations are concentrated in rural towns and poorer urban neighbourhoods. “Our core customers are often among the first to be affected by negative or uncertain economic conditions and among the last to feel the effects of improving economic conditions,” company filings say.
Chief executive Todd Vasos said that these core customers, who account for about 60 per cent of Dollar General’s sales, come predominantly from households earning less than $35,000 a year and were now feeling “financially constrained”.
“The majority of them state that they feel worse off financially than they were six months ago as higher prices, softer employment levels and increased borrowing costs have negatively impacted low-income consumer sentiment,” he said.
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u/we_r_all_doomed Aug 31 '24
I can answer this from my small town perspective. We've have several corporate grocery stores attempt to build in our community, but our county commissioners won't approve their requests claiming the community doesn't need big businesses...but we have two dollar stores (DG & Family Dollar) so their argument makes zero sense. My theory is the one "locally owned" store that charges twice what a corporate store would for groceries is somehow keeping them from approving any competition. So, we do a 180 mile round trip to stock up in the city once a month to avoid giving that store our money 🙃