99 Cent Only Store closings to benefit Dollar Tree, other discounters

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Over 77% of 99 Cent Only Store customers shopped at Dollar Tree in the past 12 months according to Earnest credit card data. The dollar store is by far the highest overlapping retailer with 99 Cent Only Store, suggesting it could stand to gain the most customers in Southern California and Texas as 99 Cent Only closes. Discount general merchandisers Five Below, Dollar General, and Big Lots all share more than a quarter of 99 Cent Only Stores’ customers and also stand to gain customers.

Dollar stores are facing challenges across the US, including ecommerce Temu taking share of wallet, especially among middle and higher income shoppers looking for deals. They have also faced competition from discount grocers like Grocery Outlet that have been surging in popularity since inflation began spiking after the pandemic. Discount grocer Aldi, Smart & Final, Grocery Outlet, and Food 4 Less all share between 15% and 28% of 99 Cent Only Store’s customers.