Dollar Tree News ‘Disappointing’ To Many Louisiana Shoppers

(KMDL-FM) As the parade of higher prices seems to be picking up steam as we barrel into the holiday shopping season, many Louisiana consumers will attempt to thwart that budgetary onslaught by perusing the selection at their hometown dollar store. For many in Louisiana, the dollar store of choice is Dollar Tree; however, there could be trouble in paradise as many Louisiana Dollar Tree shoppers are expressing "disappointment" in the current changes made by the company.

You don't have to drive far in Louisiana to realize that Dollar Tree is a popular brand and a popular store in the state. According to the Dollar Tree website, Louisiana has 151 locations of the budget retailer. Many communities have more than one Dollar Tree.  Baton Rouge has 16 of them, Lafayette has 8, Lake Charles has 6, and there are even three stores in New Iberia.

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Many locations typically mean a lot of shoppers, and a lot of shoppers usually lead to a lot of opinions. Recently, those opinions have not been as favorable toward Dollar Tree as they once were. Sadly, it's not really the company's fault that folks are disappointed, but as you will see, it's pretty easy to understand both sides of the discussion.

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Do Things Only Cost a Dollar at Dollar Tree Stores?

With a name like Dollar Tree, you'd expect the store's price point target to be one dollar. For the longest time, it was, then came inflation. Now the target price point at Dollar Tree stores is $1.25. That fact and the fact that Dollar Tree is stocking higher-priced items are really not sitting well with Dollar Tree's traditional consumer base.

READ MORE: 11 Items You Should Never Buy at a Dollar Store

According to company statistics, the stores, as a whole, reported a decline in store traffic of .3%. However, sales for that same time period were up by 4.2%. So, if there is less traffic, then it must mean the people who do come in are spending more.

What is Dollar Tree's New Pricing Strategy?

Is that a de facto blessing of Dollar Tree's new price strategy? Probably not, it's more of a function of higher prices overall. But the troubling news of store traffic being down could be concerning as frugal consumers fight to keep every penny. And trust us, they won't be "bringing a dollar to a fight that costs a dollar twenty-five".

But I guess a store with the name of Dollar Twenty-Five Tree just doesn't have the same ring.