The Power of Retail

I love the excitement that bargain shopping brings. There is something quite incredible to find some really amazing things just for 99cents. This format of retail, usually looked down upon by the large retailers, is getting lots of buzz thanks to celebrities. Tyra Banks and Nicole Richie have been spotted shopping at 99 Cents Only Stores, a California based retailer and the trend is spreading far and wide. The retailer is keeping it’s look, product mix, and value different from the regular dollar stores which didn’t normally pay much attention to decor etc. Rival firms like Dollar General, Family Dollar and Dollar Tree are all working to update the look of their stores and to pull in newer customers.

According to an article in MySA.com, the dollar store industry is worth around $13 billion, after several years of steady increases, although the past few years have seen sales flattening out. A report by The Nielsen Co, estimates that 65% of US households shopped at dollar stores in 2006, as compared to 59% in 2001. The main reason that more people are shopping at these stores is that their number has increased significantly, from 5,458 locations in 1996 to over 19,000 in 2006.

“They have had phenomenal growth, and you are seeing some of the bigger competitors starting to slow down,” said Neil Stern, partner with retail consulting firm McMillan-Doolittle in Chicago. “The challenge for them continues to be how to become a more significant part of customers’ shopping basket.”