Wealthy shoppers keep flocking to Aldi and dollar stores and say there’s no longer any stigma, report says

Wealthy shoppers are increasingly turning to discount stores like Aldi, Dollar Tree, and Dollar General.
This is because of inflation, improved product quality, and changing attitudes to discount stores.
“A carrot is a carrot,” one discount shopper who makes $200,000 a year said.

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Wealthy shoppers are increasingly turning to discount stores, saying they want to save money where they can and there’s no longer stigma attached to budget shopping, per a report by The Wall Street Journal.

Morgan Pierce, who The Journal reported earns about $200,000 a year working at McDonald’s corporate office in Chicago, visits Aldi and dollar stores for staples. “A carrot is a carrot is a carrot,” she told the publication, adding that for her last birthday party she hired a private chef and served the food off $1 plates.

People who The Journal spoke to said that the idea of shopping at discount stores was no longer as stigmatized. “Not everything on the shelves is well-made, but there are things that are, and I am not ashamed to go into those places and get them, and I’m not afraid to tell people about it,” Pierce said.

Soaring inflation during 2021 and 2022 combined with better-quality budget products and a rising number of brand-agnostic shoppers have all helped to push wealthier shoppers to discount stores.

Aldi US reported last year that it had seen a rise in middle- and high-income shoppers while Dollar Tree CEO Rick Dreiling said at the company’s May earnings call that more people earning $80,000 had been visiting its stores. Dollar General CFO Kelly Dilts said earlier this month that the chain had retained “a significant number of customers in higher income brackets” in recent years.

“No matter how much you make, you don’t want to spend $4 on an avocado when you can get one for 59 cents,” Bob Gillman, an executive transition consultant who shops at Aldi and dollar stores, told The Journal. He said that shoppers didn’t seem to mind the German discount retailer’s practices of making customers bag their own items and use quarters to get shopping carts.

As customers’ attitudes towards budget shopping change, hundreds of accounts have sprung up on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube where shoppers showcase bargains they found at discount stores and try out the products at home.

Bethenny Frankel, a former “Real Housewives of New York City” star, has amassed 1.4 million followers on her TikTok channel where she posts beauty tips alongside videos reviewing budget-store purchases. She told The Journal that she visits the stores carrying her Hermès bag.

“What’s the difference between a dollar-store and a $20 pair of flip flops?,” she told The Journal, adding that lip gloss “stays on for five minutes no matter how much you spend.”

It’s not just wealthier shoppers that are increasingly turning to discount stores, though. Dreiling said that Dollar Tree’s core customers were visiting more frequently.

In the quarter to April 30, traffic in its stores increased 5.5% but the average basket size was down 2.1% compared to the same period in 2022. The retailer is also rolling out more high-priced products, and said customers weren’t deterred after it set its main price point to $1.25.

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