Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
That Mercedes in the dollar-store parking lot isn’t an illusion.
High-earners joined the rest of the country in flooding discount retailers such as Dollar General, Aldi grocery store and Five Below as prices for food and staples rose. Now, with inflation at half its peak, they aren’t letting up.
InMarket, which tracks retailer foot traffic, measured a 4% average increase in the share of dollar-store visits this year among those making more than $100,000, compared with the second half of 2022. Households with six-figure incomes are 15% more likely to say they would shop at dollar stores than they were last June, going from 39% to 45%, according to daily surveys from Morning Consult of about 50,000 Americans.
One quote from the article:
Quote:
Bob Gillman, an executive transition consultant, has shopped at Aldi and other discount chains for decades. He didn’t mention the habit to his friends until recently, when a branch popped up near his tony Palm Springs, Calif., community.
“We see lots of people driving Porsches, Mercedes and BMWs in the parking lot,” Gillman says. “No matter how much you make, you don’t want to spend $4 on an avocado when you can get one for 59 cents.”
Well, they didn’t get to be in the 1% club by being stupid with money, right?? Besides, the type of car people drive can often be deceiving. I know people my age who drive BMWs and Mercedes, and have a much lower (or negative) net worth than I do. Some of them probably have to shop at Aldi because of the car payments. Appearances can be deceiving!
Personally, I’ve rarely seen dollar stores being cheaper per unit than somewhere like Walmart. They’re a few things I’ll drop in for, like gift cards, but they’re rarely cheaper than mainline stores.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,585 posts, read 81,225,683 times
Reputation: 57825
I haven't ever been in a Dollar store, in fact have no idea where there is one, but I'm not in the 1% by any means. We buy some items at Walmart but not produce or meat, and most of our shopping is at Costco. Oddly, we discovered that Whole Foods has deli sliced American Cheese for $8.99 and most places including Kroger are at $10.99, so whenever we pass them we stop and get some. We are not going out of our way to save $2, though.
I haven't ever been in a Dollar store, in fact have no idea where there is one, but I'm not in the 1% by any means. We buy some items at Walmart but not produce or meat, and most of our shopping is at Costco. Oddly, we discovered that Whole Foods has deli sliced American Cheese for $8.99 and most places including Kroger are at $10.99, so whenever we pass them we stop and get some. We are not going out of our way to save $2, though.
You're in a wealthy area outside of Seattle.
They're all over the place in the South. In rural areas, they're often the only shopping within a reasonable driving distance.
I don't know if Aldi (or Lidl) in the USA belongs in the same classification as Dollar General or the other "dollar stores".
My grocery shopping includes a lot of fresh foods and not much in the way of packaged items. At least Aldi and Lidl in the US have a good selection of those items. Dollar General or most other dollar stores in the US have minimal fresh foods. That's the main reason I never had any interest in shopping at the dollar stores.
Well, they didn’t get to be in the 1% club by being stupid with money, right?? Besides, the type of car people drive can often be deceiving. I know people my age who drive BMWs and Mercedes, and have a much lower (or negative) net worth than I do. Some of them probably have to shop at Aldi because of the car payments. Appearances can be deceiving!
Exactly, although I'm not a 1%er. I buy all of my dish soap and lately, my shower items, at Dollar Tree. Also greeting cards are a great buy here. Why would you pay $6 for a piece of cardboard when you can get the same thing for $.50 or $1.00.
And I love driving my old Toyota which just goes, paid $6k cash for it and haven't had any car payment for 15 or more years. Why would I want anything fancier?
I don't know if Aldi (or Lidl) in the USA belongs in the same classification as Dollar General or the other "dollar stores".
My grocery shopping includes a lot of fresh foods and not much in the way of packaged items. At least Aldi and Lidl in the US have a good selection of those items. Dollar General or most other dollar stores in the US have minimal fresh foods. That's the main reason I never had any interest in shopping at the dollar stores.
Aldi has better food than my mainline regional grocer. While they’re cheap, they’re not a dollar store.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
