Are Dollar Stores
The New Grocery Stores?

We are a bunch of data nerds at Sites USA. That's always been the secret behind our software. I caught on to this fact pretty quickly after starting here. Some of us prefer demographic data, while others prefer sports betting. Personally, my own data nerdiness is around our merchant data. I've always liked creeping on our merchant database to watch the crazy highs and lows of commercial real estate play out. It almost always has an interesting story to tell.

Dollar Stores, for example, have been blowing up for a few years now. There are probably more than a few reasons, but one big factor might be the growing Food Desert problem. As fresh food and important medications become more unavailable to large populations in both urban and rural communities, Dollar Stores have been popping up across the country. Dollar General, for example, recently added "Fresh Food" to their selection of products. Others have been ahead of the game for a while now, like The 99 Cent Store. Even with recent price increases, this category has continued to meet customers' very important needs.

Dollar General is the second-largest retailer by location in our database, with over 18,000 locations nationwide. If you were expecting Starbucks or McDonald's to be on that list, don't worry, they're up there too. Unsurprisingly, Subway is our number one largest retailer by location, followed by Dollar General, Starbucks, McDonald's, and finally Shell. It's also interesting that each of these retailers is in a different category, but all share similar qualities: fast, convenient, and most importantly, affordable products.

Taking a closer look at our merchant database, we currently track 9 different retailers in the Dollar Store category, all with pretty vastly different sizes and scales.

Food Deserts have become a major topic of conversation in the last few years. While these areas are most commonly found in urban areas with lower incomes and higher crime rates, Food Deserts can also be in rural areas with smaller populations and large distances between homes and towns. For urban areas, being farther than a one-mile radius from the nearest grocery store and access to transportation, like a car, will determine if the area is a true Food Desert or is Food Insecure. These communities rely on fast food or local corner stores for meals, which often don't have healthy options or produce. While Grocery stores are unavailable in these areas, Dollar Stores will have to fill in the gap with the offerings they do provide.

The Food Desert problem isn't an easy one to solve, and it can become complex very easily. But commercial real estate is more than buildings and plots of land; It affects the people and communities around us, even if we can't see them. Where we live, how we work, and what type of lifestyle we have is based on the community around us. Something as simple as a trip to the grocery store may not be so simple for some. •

Last Modified June 3, 2022