From increasing insurance premiums to consistently higher grocery bills, it feels like there's been no break from inflation. That's why so many savvy shoppers turn to dollar stores, especially Dollar Tree. Until late 2021, most items were priced exclusively at $1, but Dollar Tree upped that price point to $1.25, saying this allowed it to "expand its offerings" and introduce new products and sizes. But while shoppers have somewhat gotten used to seeing $1.25, they've spotted signs of rising prices at Dollar Tree yet again.
RELATED: These Are the Products You "Need to Stop Buying" at Dollar Tree, Shopper Says.
In several TikTok videos posted this month, shoppers showcased price scanners at Dollar Tree stores. While scanners like this, which allow you to check prices before getting to the register, are common at other stores, Dollar Tree customers found them a bit disconcerting. If everything in the store is $1.25, why is a price scanner necessary?
In a Feb. 7 TikTok video, a couponer in California (@niecy_deals) was running an errand when she spotted a price scanner for the first time.
"The Dollar Tree went from $1 to $1.25, [and] items that are higher-priced are the gift cards that you see there and the food items that are clearly marked in the back in the freezer section," @niecy_deals says. (Dollar Tree has a pricier section for refrigerated and frozen foods, as well as the Dollar Tree Plus line, which offers items between the $3 and $5 mark.)
The TikToker then pans to a price scanner affixed to a column in the store. "What the [expletive] is this?" the TikToker asks viewers.
@niecy_deals says she then spoke to the store manager, who informed her that the items priced at $1.25 are going to tick up to $1.50, $1.75, and potentially $2.
@simplynatalie31 Yep.It's here!
Another TikToker, @simplynatalie31, also spotted the price scanners and posted a TikTok, which garnered several critical comments from shoppers.
"Just cross of dollar and call it 'tree,'" one commenter joked, while another said the chain should be called "'Might be a dollar' Tree."
Yet another voiced frustration with the scanners, writing, "I shouldn't have to check the price at the DOLLAR store."
RELATED: 8 Warnings to Shoppers From Ex-Dollar Tree Employees.
But while some speculated about an uptick in pricing, another TikToker said items are already more expensive.
"Dollar Tree, you have some explaining to do: $1.75 for a liter of soda?" @CouponChica1 says in a video posted over the weekend. "We accepted the Plus section, but what we can't understand is why you would randomly increase the price of items that used to be $1.25. Make it make sense."
A commenter said they worked at Dollar Tree and the higher price was inevitable due to an increase from PepsiCo, but @CouponChica1 said that other items were more expensive as well.
"It wasn't just soda," the TikToker wrote in response. "$1.50 sunglasses $1.50 balloons."
Illustrating this point, another TikTok user Holly Brooke (@hollybrooke92) filmed her receipt from Dollar Tree in a Feb. 7 video, showing that she was charged $1.50 for three pairs of sunglasses.
"Can someone tell me when Dollar Tree changed their prices from $1.25 to $1.50?" she asks. "This is crazy. I didn't even know they changed it."
In a 2023 Reddit post, one user claimed that Dollar Tree upped the prices for readers and sunglasses last June.
Best Life reached out to Dollar Tree for comment and will update the story when we hear back.
