With money tight, millions of Americans are discovering (or rediscovering) that their local dollar stores can help stretch household budgets.
Sales have surged at most of the major dollar chains -- including Family Dollar, Dollar Tree and Dollar General -- as more shoppers look for deep discounts on pantry staples and household basics, as well as the occasional pair of flip-flops or Hannah Montana hand sanitizer. And it's not just low-income families looking to make ends meet.
Nearly half of American shoppers visit one of these discounters in a given month, according to a 2008 survey by market research firm Retail Forward. One-third of those shoppers have incomes of more than $50,000.
And they're finding out that some products simply don't require a well-known label to do the job. Dollar-store shopper Joanie, on Debt-Proof Living's forums, says she swears by the Awesome-brand cleaner she finds at her local Dollar Tree store. "It will clean anything," she says.
Slide show
Here is MSN Money's guide to the 5 best dollar-store buys and several products that you should leave on the shelves.
The number of dollar stores has grown nearly 50% since 2001, to 19,805 stores from 13,151, according to market research firm Nielsen. Sales are growing at a clip of 3% to 8% a year among the industry's largest players, according to Joan Storms of Wedbush Morgan Securities in Los Angeles.
"They are gaining share from other discounters," Storms says. This boom in business has led many chains to stock fancier merchandise and bigger name brands.
Caution, dollar-store shoppers
But not everything you find in these stores is worth putting in your cart. Most dollar stores get at least some of their merchandise from manufacturers that are trying to unload their goods and are willing to sell them for next to nothing.Some of these items are pawned off during a packaging or formulation change, or are near their "best if used by" dates. Others are simply overstock or private-label goods manufactured exclusively for dollar stores. Many of the brand-name items, such as dish soap or chips, are often sold in smaller packages to make their prices come in under a buck.
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"Dollar stores can be great," says Anthony Giorgianni, the associate editor of Consumer Reports' Money Adviser. "Just don't assume you're getting a deal."
Some prices there can actually be higher, such as those for canned vegetables and fruit, Giorgianni says.
To score the best deals, keep an open mind. Rarely, Giorgianni says, does he find something specific he's looking for. But often he finds an acceptable substitute or something else he needs.
The good, the bad, the dangerous
In addition to the goods featured in an accompanying slide show, other items that dollar-store shoppers recommend are school and office supplies, inexpensive tools such as pliers, candy and snack foods, candles and things kids lose frequently, such as sunglasses, mittens, ponytail holders and barrettes.What to stay away from? Canned vegetables, trash bags, food-storage bags, foam cups and bottled water were all found in an MSN Money test to be more expensive on a per-unit basis at dollar stores than at some supermarket and discount rivals.
The bottom line: You still need to comparison shop.
And you also need to be ready to take a chance, as many dollar-store brands won't be familiar. The good news, says blogger Billy Vasquez, aka "the 99 Cent Chef," is that you don't have a lot to lose.
"If it doesn't work, you haven't blown too much money."
Continued: View the slide show
Published April 21, 2009
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. Cheap cleaners are great!