Dollar Tree planning to sell some items for more than $1

Published 8:44 am Monday, October 4, 2021

The buck has stopped at Dollar Tree Inc.

The retailer, which sells nearly everything for a dollar in its namesake chain, plans to add more products at slightly higher prices, highlighting the pressure on companies to offset cost increases for a range of goods.

Dollar Tree said it would start selling products at $1.25 and $1.50 or other prices slightly above $1 in some of its stores, expanding current tests selling items at higher price points as supply-chain snarls, a tight labor market and inflation push costs higher.

Discount chain expanding earlier tests to boost prices, citing higher wage and freight costs

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By Sarah Nassauer

The Washington Post

The discounter has experimented with selling items for $3 and $5 since 2019 in a shelf section labeled Dollar Tree Plus. Those tests continue in a few hundred of its roughly 7,900 Dollar Tree stores.

The addition of more above-$1 items is a response to rising costs and positive consumer feedback on tests so far, Michael Witynski, chief executive of Dollar Tree, said in an interview. With the above-$1 price point, the company can offer new products such as more frozen meat or seasonal items, which could encourage shoppers to spend more per trip, he said.

All stores with Dollar Tree Plus sections will get products at the above-$1 price points, as well as some legacy stores without the special section, said a company spokesman. He said over 100 legacy stores will carry the products.