Shoppers are continuing to prioritize value in 2024, according to new research from Placer.ai, “offering opportunities for discount and dollar stores to thrive during the upcoming holiday season,” Placer.ai said in the report.

The store traffic metrics firm looked at visits to dollar stores in 2024 as well as previous years and found that discount and dollar stores “continue to benefit from an inflation-impacted economy, with category leaders like Dollar Tree and Dollar General continuing to expand their footprints to serve the increasing number of budget-conscious shoppers.”

Placer.ai said that visits to Dollar Tree and Dollar General have continued to increase—Q3 2024 visits to the chains were up by 5.3% and 4.8% year over year (YoY), respectively. Monthly visits also showed impressive growth, with October 2024 visits up by 7.6% at Dollar Tree and 7.8% at Dollar General.

“Comparing weekly visit numbers in 2021, 2022 and 2023 to each year’s weekly average reveals differences between the two discount and dollar store leaders. Visits to Dollar Tree gradually increase from early November onward and peak on the last full week before Christmas, while Dollar General’s visits exhibited more stability.”

Dollar General’s softer holiday traffic may be due to the expansion of its Dollar General Market concept, which turned many of its stores into destinations for fresh foods, so consumers may be treating Dollar General more like a grocery store and less like a holiday shopping spot, Placer.ai said.

Earlier this year, NACS Daily reported that dollar stores are pursuing an aggressive expansion. The Wall Street Journal reported that “Dollar General and Dollar Tree … are together on track to open more than 1,300 new locations this fiscal year. That is down from last year. But it still far outpaces other retailers’ expansions, reflecting dollar-store executives’ belief that new stores are the key to juicing sales and capturing market share.”