Mom-and-Pop Dollar Stores Fight to Survive as Chains Move In

I love seeing how mom and pop stores work to meet the needs of their local communities. It is unfortunate every time one of these gems is lost to national companies.

There's many reasons why not only lower class families, but middle and upper class famalies are choosing to shop at the regular dollar store rather than your average mom and pop shop, and I think that has to do with not only cheap prices but variety as well. When I walk into an average mom and pop shop I usually tend to find smaller items such as candy, soda pop, maybe little frozen foods such as hot pockets and such. Compared to the dollar tree, now as a frequent dollar tree shopper it's way easier to shop there because they literally have all the household items I'm looking for. Items such as shampoo, plungers, toilet paper, cleaning accessories, toys, medicine, make-up they literally have tons of stuff which if you think about it is pretty amazing considering all those items only cost one dollar each. Yes it will be tough for these smaller mom and pop shops to thrive let alone survive. The amount of inventory they would have to bring in just to keep up with a "Dollar Tree" general store is ridiculous, and would hurt their business more than help. I know it sucks for the smaller independent stores but it's reality these dollar trees just have more variety. But I will occasionally stop in and support some random mom and pop shops from time to time. In the end shoppers want more convenience and variety for their dollar. So there is really no surprise seeing the rise in sales for these dollar tree chain stores and the fall of these smaller independent mom and pop stores.

In Astoria Bargain Stop recently closed and that is a big loss to the area. It was like a dollar store and discount Bed Bath Beyond combined with all kinds of odd lots of useful things. Unique place and fun to browse. A era is over.

Does the 99 cent store unpack its shipments as soon as they come in and not leave them stacked in the aisles so that customers can't get to what they want on the shelves? If they do, they are already one-up on the Dollar Tree store in my town.

We were just in rural Georgia and it became a running joke that every time we saw a Dollar General or Dollar Tree, a small town with a dead downtown was coming up. There were dollar stores in towns with no other businesses we could see and for some reason they were mostly located on the outskirts of towns.

The dollar stores haven't made much inroad here in this part of Montana. We have had a couple go out of business and I think only one remains. I buy large one dollar bottles of cayenne pepper there that I use to deter the neighborhood cats from my flower beds. I also participated in a dollar store costume contest a few years back. I do, without question though, see customers there buying necessities so I suspect that even in an area with thriving retail, dollar stores can do some business. The bigger question for New York is whether it is danger of really becoming anytown USA which we already have far too many of. I hope not, I love New York.

I'm not sure what they mean by 'mom and pop dollar stores', as I've only known them to be chains and/or owned by Chinese, full of China-made products.

While I do lament the demise of independent shops giving way to chain stores, I would not miss 99-cent stores one bit, nor do I think they really provide a service for low-income communities. The truth is, these stories likely bleed low-income people more than they help them....it's just that most are too uneducated to figure this out.

Stores such as these appeal to the instant-gratification crowd, or those who are incapable of planning for the long-term or doing basic math. Constantly buying poor quality, inexpensive items because you are 'able to afford them' doesn't necessarily mean you are saving money. Utensils or small electronics at such stores usually fall apart or break within a short time period, and then you are right back buying a replacement. You actually will have saved yourself money had you first spent a bit more money, buying a more quality product that would last longer. Instead of purchasing disposable paper or plastic plates, plastic cups, plastic silverware for your annual birthday parties (and then throwing all of this stuff into a landfill each time!), why not instead purchase one durable set of quality, reusable, dishwash-safe cups etc, that can be used year-after-year? (i.e., the Preserve brand).

Most such stores do not save you money net, net, and promote 'consumption'.

this isn't news, been going own for the past 40 years or so.
I am a refugee, from NYC, it pains me when I go back to see
small local business gone.... a CVS or some other corporation there.
NYC has become corporatized, desensitized and just plain not
nearly as interesting as it was.

The small 99 cent store where I live is outselling the new Dollar Tree that opened up a year ago almost 2 to 1. The 99 cent store has milk,eggs,water, and other basic goods less than convenience store prices, they are clean,well-lit, and have working A/C. They also stock school supplies the local school district requires. The Dollar Tree next door does not carry basic items, and has very poor a/c & ventilation.It is smelly and stuffy. Given the overpriced commercial rents in southern CA, the Dollar Tree should /will shut down soon.

Sad as it is, most people cannot afford higher prices of "mom & pop" stores or the $8 pint of Ben & Jerry's at the local bodega.

I agree with everything said in this article except that it should have been written 20 years ago.

I am heart broken that almost every American city is now the same due to retail and restaurant chains. See one city and you have seen them all. See one menu and you have seen them all. Same clothes. Same, same, same. Boring, boring, boring. No family pride in ownership. Store personalities are all the same, bored uninvested underpaid employees. We are creating a cultural depression. I for one am depressed by the loss of our individual and family owned small businesses.

Great article, thank you. Amazon is ruining it for everyone.