Discount retailer Dollar Tree announced it will raise its price cap to $7 on items at thousands of its stores across the nation as soaring prices continue to take their toll on the most economically vulnerable Americans.
Dollar Tree CEO Rick Dreiling told investors during a conference call on March 13: “This year, across 3,000 stores, we expect to expand our multi-price assortment by over 300 items at price points ranging from $1.50 to $7.00.”
The higher cost items will include food, pet, and personal care items, according to Mr. Dreiling.
“Over time, you will also see us fully integrate multi-price merchandise more into our stores so our shoppers will find $5 bags of dog food next to our traditional $1.25 pet treats and toys, and our $3 bags of candy will be found in the candy aisle,” Mr. Dreiling said.
The hike was meant to meet the needs of the brand’s new customer base, which is trending beyond the lower economic stratum and into the market of middle and higher-earning clientele.
“The fastest-growing demographic is north of $125,000 a year in income,” Mr. Dreiling said.
However, the Dollar Tree is only the most recent discount retailer confronting heavy pressure as a result of monetary inflation.
Last Friday, it was announced that hundreds of 99 Cents Only stores nationwide would be shuttering, citing elevated inflation as a contributing factor.
“This was an extremely difficult decision and is not the outcome we expected or hoped to achieve,” interim CEO Mike Simoncic said in a statement.
“Unfortunately, the last several years have presented significant and lasting challenges in the retail environment, including the unprecedented impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, shifting consumer demand, rising levels of shrink, persistent inflationary pressures and other macroeconomic headwinds, all of which have greatly hindered the company’s ability to operate.”
Angela McArdle, the chair of the Libertarian Party, told The Epoch Times that retailers and consumers alike are paying the price for the government’s record-setting inflation of the money supply.
“I hear a lot of progressive talking points that corporations are driving up prices, but when the dollar is devalued, their internal costs go up and they have to charge more to make a living,” said Mrs. McArdle. “It is really frustrating to hear that businesses like the Dollar Tree are forced to compromise their entire marketing plan and charge customers more to stay in business and keep people employed.”
“You can’t run a business that isn’t make any revenue,” she added.
Inflation has been rising steadily since 1970, with the skyrocketing cost of food accelerating in 2021, largely attributable to an unprecedented increase in the money supply during COVID. As a result, many Americans have been forced to reprioritize their budgets in searching for ways to pay their monthly bills.
Further, as the rising price of food continues to outpace real growth in wages, many budget-weary Americans have become increasingly reliant on discount retail stores as they substitute healthier, more expensive whole foods found at the grocery store for the less-expensive processed foods available at the chains
The prices of many traditional food staples have experienced unprecedented increases. Since February 2022, the price of eggs has increased by more than 70 percent, while beef and veal continue to sell at record highs, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Meanwhile, the processed, shelf-stable foods that are more readily available at discount dollar stores experienced only mild price increases by comparison.
A report published by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance claimed that in some rural areas the economic downturn has forced grocery stores to go out of business or relocate, leaving the three main discount dollar retailers—Dollar General, Dollar Tree, Family Dollar—as the only ones left to serve the population.
“President Biden is committed to making sure corporations are held accountable when they try to rip off Americans, including when they break the law while keeping prices high,” the White House said in a statement on March 5.
Regulatory officials will focus on corporations who “may be violating the law and keeping prices high, including prescription drugs and health care, food and grocery, housing, financial services, and more.”
However, in blaming business, the government officials are ignoring the real cause of the rising prices, according to Mrs. McArdle, who says that so long as the United States continues to flood the world with an increasing amount of dollars, people should expect the problem of inflation—and the resulting loss of businesses damaged by the resulting rise in costs—to continue unabated.
“My concern is that we are headed towards an Argentina style de-stabilization,” said Mrs. McArdle. “Most people in Congress are too cowardly or too beholden to their benefactors and want to stay employed by the government’s dollars more than they want to fix the government’s dollar.
“The whole thing is maddening. We should stop implementing inflationary policies.”
