Dollar Tree is turning over a new, slightly more luxurious leaf.
The discount retailer is opening up shop in more affluent neighborhoods in an effort to draw out the nation’s biggest spenders.
Nearly half of new Dollar Tree locations over the last six years opened in the wealthier ZIP codes of metropolitan areas, compared to just 41% in prior years, according to a recent analysis by Bloomberg.
The new locations included the retail chain’s 9,000th North American store in Plano, Texas, in May 2025. The green and white storefront sits just a short drive away from affluent Plano’s Louis Vuitton store, luxury car dealerships and million-dollar residential neighborhoods.
Dollar stores have a reputation for gaining customers during lean times, but recent years suggest an alternative business tactic behind their ascent into ritzy enclaves — it pays to cater to wealth. The highest-earning 10% of Americans are driving the majority of the nation’s spending, changing how low-cost retailers like Walmart operate and reshaping the real estate market.
Plano was once far outside of the retailer’s orbit, but now pricey Range Rovers dot the parking lot.
“Everything’s kind of drifted up,” CEO Michael Creedon told Bloomberg.
Dollar Tree execs are betting that greener pastures will yield even more monied clientele. Shoppers earning more than $100,000 made up 60% of Dollar Tree’s 3 million new customers last quarter.
While these high earners tend to shop less, they aren’t afraid to spend more. Wealthier Dollar Tree customers shell out an average of $1 more per visit — adding up to a potential annual sales boost of $1 billion.
The retailer and other discount dollar stores have long been associated with poor working conditions and undercutting local businesses, leading some towns to block new stores. Creedon told Bloomberg the retailer had locked itself into “a little bit of that stigma of the dollar store,” but that may be changing.
The store broke with tradition in 2019 to begin offering products for up to $5. That price point rose to $7 in 2025 — a far cry from the store’s humble $1 days.
Along with more expensive products, the store is luring well-heeled customers with the promise of a more convenient one-stop shop than Target or Walmart. The company has taken advantage of vacant storefronts on prime real estate corridors and corners once established by retailers like CVS and Walgreens.
“For us to be able to now capture some of those corners as they exit the market, it is critical to our success,” Dollar Tree executive Jocy Konrad told Plano outlet Community Impact.
Shoppers on a budget aren’t losing out on any deals, however.
Dollar Tree — expected to report its fastest annual growth in a decade this year — has also been moving into lower-income areas, and reported increased spending last quarter even among households earning below $20,000.
