Dollar Tree made its name on, well, selling things for a dollar—but that claim to fame isn't quite what it used to be. In late 2021, the discount chain infamously ramped up its base price to $1.25. Now, Dollar Tree is set to increase prices on some items even more, raising the "price ceiling" for its products from $5 to $7 throughout 2024.
"This year, across 3,000 stores, we expect to expand our multi-price assortment by over 300 items at price points ranging from $1.50 to $7," Dollar Tree CEO Rick Dreiling said in a March 13 earnings call. (Dreiling additionally hinted that an increase to $10 is not out of the question in the coming years.) And while the brand hasn't announced a specific date for these price increases, shoppers say there are signs that they're imminent.
For Dollar Tree shoppers, the most actionable takeaway is this: Stock up on $1.25 purchases while you can. To that end, here are four items you should buy at Dollar Tree now, before price increases are implemented this year.
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1 | Pet Food and Toys
ShutterstockAs of this writing, Dollar Tree hasn't said which specific items are slated for price hikes. And retail experts Best Life reached out to declined to comment.
But Dreiling mentioned a handful of product categories during Dollar Tree's earnings call that give some indication as to the the types of products that will become more expensive. Chief among them? Pet food and toys.
"Our shoppers will find $5 bags of dog food next to our traditional $1.25 pet treats and toys," Dreiling said.
At the moment, pet food—whether it's 9 Lives chicken-and-tuna-flavored pate for cats or Nature's Corner "country chicken stew" for dogs—is $1.25 across the board, per the chain's website. According to the pet experts at Rover, canned pet food can last up to three years before perishing, so it can't hurt to stock up now.
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2 | Food and Snacks
ZikG/ShutterstockIn addition to pet food, human food is also targeted for a price increase, Dreiling said in the earnings call. Though he didn't name any specific products, he broadly mentioned candy and snacks. Good thing candy can last six months or longer, depending on the conditions you store it in, according to reporting from Virginia Tech.
An increase in food cost shouldn't come as a huge surprise: The American economy has been defined by inflation over the past few years, with food bearing the brunt of it. And while the inflation rate is easing up, it's not going away entirely.
According to figures from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), food prices went up by 4.5 percent between Feb. 2023 and Feb. 2024, and are targeted to go up on the whole by 2.5 percent throughout 2024.
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3 | Sodas and Beverages
ShutterstockDreiling said that beverages would get more expensive this year at Dollar Tree, but neglected to say which brands or even kinds beverage would see a price increase.
Reports from Dollar Tree regulars, however, suggest that sodas from third-party retailers are at least one likely target. One Dollar Tree shopper claimed in a March 2024 Reddit thread that the liter-sized Coke products have already jumped from $1.25 to $1.75 at their local branch.
Around the same time, a Dollar Employee made the same claim in a separate Reddit post.
With that in mind, it can't hurt to stock up on beverages with a long shelf life (like the nine-month window beyond the expiration date for sodas, according to the USDA). We cannot, however, endorse buying juice or milk in bulk.
4 | Personal Care
iStockThe final product type Reilling cited in the earnings call? "Personal care."
And yes, that's an almost comically broad category. For instance, Dollar Tree's website lists everything from soap and razors to combs, baby oil, and even attire in its "personal care" section.
For the most part, you're in the clear buying a lot of this stuff in bulk. (Baby oil lasts a whopping three years.) But if you're uncertain about anything, go for the attire: Sandals and socks don't ever go out of style—so long as you don't wear them together.
