Dollar Tree Will Start Selling Some Products for More Than $1

Dollar Tree has no plans to change its name to Dollar-25 Tree, Dollar-50 Tree, or anything else—but it will start selling some products at $1.25, $1.50, and other prices in the near future.

As The Wall Street Journal reports, Dollar Tree has been getting pressure from investors to loosen its commitment to the $1 limit for a while now—after all, a buck is worth less than it was when the first location opened its doors in the mid-1980s. In the wake of climbing inflation rates and manufacturing costs, supply chain issues, and a 20-percent dip in stock value this year, the company finally decided to cave.

“We recognize the need to make adjustments in the current economic environment,” Dollar Tree CEO Michael Witynski told The Wall Street Journal, in what we can only assume was a tone of steely resignation.

The price hikes won’t necessarily just be on existing products. According to Witynski, new items—like more frozen meat or seasonal offerings—will appear on shelves, too. (It remains to be seen whether a marginal increase in the price of meat will be enough to convince skeptical dollar store employees that it’s high-quality enough to purchase themselves.)

It’s not actually the first time Dollar Tree has experimented with more expensive products. In 2019, the company started adding Dollar Tree Plus sections to certain locations, which featured $3 and $5 items. Those stores will all begin carrying items over $1, as will a number of other sites.

For every person lamenting the change, there’s probably another who’s simply surprised it hadn’t happened earlier: It seems impossible that a company with such low prices could even stay solvent. You can find out about their money-making secrets here.

[h/t The Wall Street Journal]