A Popular Dollar Store Chain Is Increasing Prices (And The Cheapest Item Costs More Than A $1)

In an era of high inflation, it may be hard to imagine a time when you could go shopping at a store where everything cost no more than one dollar. For a good bit of American history, this was indeed the case. In fact, it wasn't until 2019 when the popular chain Dollar Tree decided to raise the majority of their prices by 25%, causing dollar stores across the nation to follow suit. This opened up a pandora's box of sorts that led to today, when Dollar Tree is raising prices once again. However, this time, in a shocking turn of events, the cheapest item in the store will actually end up costing customers more than one dollar.

This being the case, it raises a profound question: if nothing you can buy at the dollar store actually costs $1 in 2025, then isn't it time for a change in branding? After all, it doesn't make sense to refer to Dollar Tree as such if none of the products actually cost a single dollar anymore. Calling it a "5 Dollar Tree" or something along those lines would make more sense. Regardless, a closer look shows how the decision by Dollar Tree to raise prices — up to $7 in some instances — was made.

Dollar stores have been a staple in the American economy ever since the first one, Dollar General, opened up in Springfield, Kentucky in 1955. This business quickly became a huge success, leading the company to gradually expand into a nationwide chain. From that point onward, different brands of dollar stores started popping up around the country, with the first Family Dollar store opening in 1959 and the first Dollar Tree opening in 1986. It is worth noting that Dollar Tree ended up buying Family Dollar for $9 billion in 2015, and these businesses have since merged.

Regardless, in recent times, you would be hard pressed to find an item within a Dollar Tree store that actually costs $1. As stated earlier, this all began in 2019 when the company announced it would be raising the majority of their prices by 25% to an average cost of $1.25 per item. However, by the time this actually became the norm in 2021, the company initiated even further price hikes by announcing their "Dollar Tree Plus" concept. This basically introduced the idea that the price of certain items would increase to $3 and $5 price points within select stores. And as you may have expected, in 2024, as these $3 to $5 priced items had become the norm, Dollar Tree announced it would be raising the price cap on items within stores once again — this time to $7.

The real reason behind Dollar Tree's 25% price hike in 2019 can actually be attributed to financial constraints the company was experiencing due to President Trump's tariffs on Chinese imports at that time. However, in 2021, the company stated the reason for the further price increases was largely due to inflationary pressures. Now today, as inflation is on the rise and tariffs once again pose a big problem to the U.S. economy, the company is facing somewhat of a double whammy. This is because with both the previous reasons for past price hikes having joined forces, the company is being forced to raise prices once again.

43% of Dollar Tree's inventory consists of products imported from China. This being the case, with Trump having recently imposed additional 10% tariffs on Chinese imports, the company is even considering dropping certain products from its inventory altogether. The truth is, in this current economic climate, selling products for $1 across the board just isn't financially feasible. Knowing this, it probably won't come as a surprise to learn that items at Dollar Tree stores in 2025 will now range from $1.50 at the minimum to $7 at the maximum. Unfortunately, consumers must now face the sad reality that dollar stores like Dollar Tree are no longer holding true to the tradition that made them so widely popular in the first place.