The Dollar Tree is a dollar no more, and shoppers are not happy. Amid Dollar Tree’s decision to implement a 25% price hike that has seen prices on items jump from $1 to $1.25, all but betraying its name, the company has come under fire by customers left feeling angry, betrayed, and “sick to my stomach.”
The outrage on social media comes after Dollar Tree told its shareholders in November 2021 that most of its products would jump to $1.25 in the first quarter of 2022. According to a report by CNN Business at the time, the company attributed the impending price hike to inflation, explaining that it was “not a reaction to short-term or transitory market conditions.” Dollar Tree added that its commitment to the $1 price tag has already forced it to stop selling some “customer favorites,” and it is no longer a realistic business model. The 25% price increase, the company said, would allow stores to reintroduce beloved items along with new ones and also allow it to increase profit margins by “mitigating historically high merchandise cost increases.”
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Similar to the outrage sparked by that initial announcement, backlash has been sparked a new online as the price hike begins to be implemented at Dollar Tree locations. Loyal Dollar Tree customers are now protesting the price increase, slamming it as greedy as those $1.25 price tags begin to appear on shelves. Keep scrolling to see what customers are saying.
‘The worst time’ for price increases
“I wish they wouldn’t have done that because most of their shoppers are people who are not getting paid a lot of money,” Leniza Costa, a beauty influencer and frequent customer from Pawtucket, Rhode Island, told CNN. “This is the worst time to increase the price, when everything else is so much.”
‘Pure greed’
“Never forget they hit record profits this year & only pay their impoverished employees an average of $12/hr,” tweeted one person. “This was a decision of pure greed.”
‘No justification’
“Paying .$25 more for the same cheap stuff. While the CEO makes 10mm in profits,” another person reacted to the increase. “No justification other than greed and where is Dollar Tree.. Low income areas. Hurting those who have $ issues ready. Not using it to raise employee salaries. Greed Greed Greed.”
Some shoppers want to boycott
“How much does the dollar tree CEO make? How much does the rest of the executive staff make?Gotta pay for those luxury vacation homes somehow…” added somebody else.
‘Disgusted’
“25% price inflation overnight for those already at the bottom of the economic ladder, suffering the most from the problems of [COVID], least able to work remotely,” tweeted somebody else.
‘Outrageous’
“For me, it’s not about the .25 price increase..it is about the fact that the CEO makes over $10 million per year!” commented one shopper. “It’s outrageous..they did not have to increase the prices. And BTW, the size of the items shunk as well, so you were screwed over twice.”
‘Not going back’
“Walked into Dollar Tree other day and everything was $1.25 …put that shit down and walked out cuz wtf?” added another person. “So now I call it Dollar25 Tree and I’m not going back there.”
