Dollar Tree Doubles Down On Pricing Items Over $1

After 35 years, Dollar Tree has announced it will begin charging $1.25 for the majority of its products at all of its locations nationwide by the end of April. 

The discount retailer says the move to $1.25 will allow it to "materially expand its offerings, introduce new products and sizes, and provide families with more of their daily essentials." Additionally, the company emphasizes that it will be able to reintroduce items that were previously discontinued due to the constraints of the $1 price point. 

"Lifting the $1 constraint represents a monumental step for our organization and we are enthusiastic about the opportunity to meaningfully improve our shoppers’ experience and unlock value for our stakeholders," Dollar Tree president and CEO Michael Witynski said in a statement. "Guided by Dollar Tree’s same founding principles, we will be relentless in our commitment to offer our customers the best value possible."

The announcement comes as Dollar Tree has seen "broad consumer acceptance" of new price points above $1 during its initial testing phase at more than 100 legacy stores. As a result of the positive customer feedback and store performance during the testing, the initiative has already been introduced at nearly 200 additional legacy Dollar Tree stores. The company plans to roll out the new price points at more than 2,000 additional legacy stores in December. 

The initiative, announced in September, came in an effort to mitigate rising freight, distribution and operating costs.