Dollar Tree was increasingly targeting higher-income shoppers in 2026

Dollar stores tend to be smaller in size than other retail stores—and some think it's so customers can see all the products faster, increasing their likelihood of finding something they want to buy.

11,000 new US dollar stores opened between 2007 and 2017

Dollar store retailers experienced significant fiscal gains during the 2010s, which were then accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. But in recent years, dollar stores have been closing in large numbers and suffering financial hardship. Experts point to Walmart's strategy of decreasing prices to cater to inflation-fatigued customers, and point out that when Walmart does well financially, dollar stores typically suffer.

Dollar stores are often found in rural, low-income areas of the US

Shoppers in these areas are increasingly turning to dollar stores for food. A study published in 2023 found that dollar stores were the fastest-growing food retailers by household expenditure share, with rural growth outpacing growth elsewhere (a 102.9% increase in rural areas versus 89.7% elsewhere).

Family Dollar and Dollar Tree merged in 2015 before splitting in 2025

Dollar Tree completed its acquisition of Family Dollar for about $9B in 2015. However, in 2025, Dollar Tree sold Family Dollar to private equity firms Brigade Capital Management and Macellum Capital Management for just over $1B after Family Dollar lagged in performance.

Dollar stores often place staple items at the back of the store so customers encounter other less-necessary items on their way there, leading to impulse buys.

The modern large chain dollar store business model originated in the South

The first Dollar General store opened in Kentucky, the first Family Dollar in North Carolina, and the first Dollar Tree in Southern Virginia. To this day, dollar stores have more distribution centers in the South than anywhere else in the US.

Dollar stores can have negative impacts on local businesses

When a household name dollar store like Dollar General opens in a small town or local community, neighborhood businesses often lose out on key sales, driving revenue down and putting them at risk of closure. This has led some experts to argue that dollar store chains can cause economic stress, rather than relieve it.

Dollar General vs Dollar Tree vs Family Dollar: What's the difference?

A recent article claims that at Dollar Tree, almost all of the items are $1.25, although inventory seems more limited. At Family Dollar and Dollar General, prices tend to be slightly higher, though they often carry name brands.

Dollar stores procure their merchandise in bulk to help cut costs

In order to keep prices cheap, dollar stores source this merchandise from a variety of places, including liquidation sales (an event that happens when retailers need to sell off inventory quickly), directly from distributors, foreign markets, and more.

The products sold at dollar stores tend to be smaller in size

Recent reports suggest that dollar stores regularly practice 'shrinkflation,' the practice of making products smaller while keeping the price the same or even raising it.

The best items to buy at dollar stores, according to a financial expert

Experts advise purchasing items like greeting cards, pregnancy tests, candy, gift and party supplies, and other items from the dollar store to maximize savings.

One of LVMH's key business innovations was widening the luxury market's target audience

While certain items under the LVMH umbrella can cost thousands of dollars, like large Louis Vuitton bags, others, like coin purses or lipstick, cost significantly less. Some argue that these comparatively lower-priced items allows LVMH's target audience to be much larger in size than it would have been if it only targeted the world's wealthiest shoppers, whereas others argue that it makes the brand more vulnerable to economic downturns.

Tiffany & Co. was among LVMH's most expensive—and complex—acquisitions

Three years after LVMH acquired Tiffany in 2021 for $15.8B, the jeweler's profits doubled to over $1B per year.

The worst things to buy at the dollar store, according to a financial expert

Some dollar store products can be low quality, and experts advise not purchasing them. This list includes 17 products to avoid at dollar stores, including batteries, toys, costumes, and more.

Tiffany & Co. released a $200K Advent calendar in 2021

Tiffany & Co. has released ultra-luxury Advent calendars containing more than $100K worth of jewelry, including gold bracelets, diamond earrings, and platinum pendants. The 2021 edition cost $200K and featured daily drawers of high-end pieces.

See every brand that LVMH—the world's largest luxury goods holding company—owns, from luxury fashion and jewelry brands like Tiffany & Co., Fendi, and Louis Vuitton to beauty supply store Sephora and the hotel group Belmond.

Walmart was the first traditional retailer to crack the $1T club

In early 2026, the company joined major tech companies Nvidia, Apple, and Meta (among others) as one of the rare firms with a market capitalization beyond $1T. See the latest top companies here.

Wealthy Americans are keeping car dealerships afloat

In the past five years, the share of people buying cars above $50K has increased by several-fold. Car prices have significantly increased overall in recent years.

In 1955, the first Dollar General store was opened in Kentucky

It was created by a father and son, Cal Turner Sr. and JL Turner. At the time, no item in the store cost more than one dollar, although that has since changed.

In 2006, Macy's was worth $20B—but as of 2024, its market cap was just under $5B

Macy's went from roughly 800 to 500 stores within the same time period. Macy’s has spent the recent years since the pandemic closing swaths of stores.

Estée Lauder used wealthy people's bathrooms to curate the color of the jars her products were sold in

While Lauder herself was just starting her cosmetics empire, she knew wealthy people who could afford high-quality products would always be her target market. In order to make her products as appealing to this market as possible, Lauder held up different colors of glass bottles in people's bathrooms to see what would look best with their decorations before landing on a turquoise bottle with a gold cap.

As of 2024, Macy’s wanted to monetize its store closures through real estate deals

In a 2024 earnings call, Macy’s noted that while it’s remodeling and investing in some of its brick-and-mortar locations, it seeks to shutter other stores in lower-performing locations. It’s estimated that Macy's will close 150 locations through 2026.

Hermes once usurped LVMH as the world's most valuable luxury company in April 2025

At the time, Hermes's market capitalization surpassed LVMH's after a tough earnings report for LVMH in Q1 2025. The news came roughly fifteen years after LVMH tried to quietly build a stake in Hermes.

Louis Vuitton is considered LVMH's most valuable brand

Louis Vuitton consistently ranks among the world's top 10 most valuable global brands—it's worth an estimated $100B as of this writing.

North American department store retail groups report sales declined from 2018 to 2023

That's according to a recent report from Bain & Company that dives into consumer sentiment around department store shopping and explores a potential reset for the industry.

LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault was among the world's 10 wealthiest people as of early 2026

With a reported net worth of about $190B, Arnault consistently ranks among the world's richest individuals. He held the number one spot on the list until early 2023, when Elon Musk overtook him.

The 'ultrawealthy' in 2026 hold $30M or more

This group of ultra-high-net-worth individuals holds more than double the assets of the top 1% of Americans (and this group holds over a third of all American wealth). These folks go beyond a well-funded retirement plan and a paid-off home common to middle-class households with investments in private equity, commercial real estate, and alternative assets like art.

In the 1980s, the Reagan administration stopped enforcing a law prohibiting discriminatory pricing, which gave large chains an advantage and led to the closures of smaller stores—creating modern food deserts.

Much of Estée Lauder's success stemmed from her laser focus on serving her target market: wealthy women who saw beauty as an investment.

The Walton family behind Walmart is the world’s richest family with $432B

The world’s 10 richest families, including the families behind Hermès and Mars, control hundreds of billions of dollars worth of the world’s wealth.

Many of luxury holding company LVMH's acquisitions were due to chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault's search for undervalued companies.

LVMH's history can be traced back to 1854, the year Louis Vuitton was started

Louis Vuitton was founded by a craftsman's apprentice who specialized in trunk-making. Since its merger with Moët Hennessy in 1987, which created LVMH, the conglomerate has been considered a powerhouse in the business world. "I would argue that next to Apple, no other company on the planet dominates their industry as completely as LVMH," one financial expert said.

US holiday retail sales reached $973B in 2024

In 2024, US holiday retail sales reached $973B—nearly one-fifth of annual sales. Many companies depend on this season to bolster revenues.

Macy’s announced a series of pandemic-era store closures in January 2021

Specifically, as mall foot traffic declined, Macy’s sought to grow elsewhere (as did many other retailers around the same time).

See a map of where annual household incomes over $200K are most common in America.

Some ads help create ‘symbolic value’ for products

A Rolex watch and a watch from the Dollar Store serve the same purpose: helping the wearer tell the time. But a Rolex is worth thousands of dollars while the Dollar Store watch is costs $1 because of symbolic value, or what the watch says about its wearer. This article helps break down the difference between the two.

See a chart showing how US tariff revenue has grown in recent years.

In 2023 and the first half of 2024, Berkshire Hathaway bought back more than $12B of its own stock

In the second half of 2024, the company—and Buffett—decided to buy up shares of Domino’s Pizza, Pool, Sirius XM Holdings, and Liberty Media. They also decided to sell Capital One, Ulta Beauty, and Nu Holdings, among others. Learn why Buffett is buying and selling these stocks and what it could mean for the financial conglomerate.

Sears failed to evolve in a changing economy

At its peak, Sears was the largest retailer in the world, making elite objects accessible to the middle class. But in 2018, the company officially filed for bankruptcy due to massive debt and losses.

The US dollar has served as the world's reserve currency for 80 years—but is its dominance coming to an end?

Since the establishment of the Bretton Woods economic system, about 90% of global foreign exchange transactions have involved USD. Although no viable alternative exists yet, the dollar's share of central bank reserves has decreased from 73% to 58% from 2001 to 2024, and President Trump's 2025 tariffs have sped up this trend.

Around 60% of female billionaires in the US are considered self-made—meaning at least some of their wealth comes from a business venture launched on their own.

Some billionaires invest in extreme home upgrades for their estates

Car elevators, spas, movie theaters, bowling alleys, nightclubs, and panic rooms are just some of the lavish upgrades the 1% builds in their homes.

In 2014, there were more payday loan stores than McDonalds

That year, there were more than 20,000 payday lenders in the US, according to the St. Louis Federal Reserve, and 14,267 McDonald's locations. Politicians and consumer advocates frequently cited this statistic as a selling point for increased regulation.

The Lunar New Year is a major driver in China's economy

The annual festival brings in billions of dollars in both foreign and domestic tourism. The 2026 holiday includes an additional day, something Chinese officials hope will provide an even bigger boost to the country's somewhat stubborn national retail sales.

See America's top companies by revenue in 1994 versus 2023—Sears isn't on the 2023 list, while Amazon isn't in the 1994 edition.

Loudoun County, Virginia, is considered the world's densest data center hub.

Americans are projected to inherit $105T over the next 30 years

Today, someone's financial standing has more to do with their families than any other outside factor. Of the more than $100T of projected inheritance, that money is concentrated among a few wealthy estates and families.

Many airports have dedicated stores for luggage, despite most passengers having luggage with them already

This podcast episode argues that airport luggage stores exist due, in part, to the security measures implemented after 9/11, creating capitve audiences of travelers. Some argue that airport luggage store shoppers coming from places where luggage is more expensive could be purchasing luggage in international airports. Specifically, the episode traces airport history from the very beginning to today's luggage store in your local Terminal B.

Disney World tickets cost 56% more now than in 2014

The prototypical middle-class American family vacation has been a staple for decades. But in the last 10 years, the cost—over $5K for a 5-night stay for a family of four—has placed the trip out of reach for many.

Independent bookstores are expanding across the country, though studies show literacy rates are rapidly declining, with only 35% of American high school seniors considered proficient readers.