retail

Family Dollar Introduces 'Ad Match' Program

Dollar stores, still gaining market share from other channels, are getting even more aggressive: Family Dollar Stores is debuting an “Ad Match Promise,” matching competitor’s prices. 

“With this new program, our customers will no longer have to search all over town for the best deal,” says Jason Reiser, chief merchandising officer of the Matthews, N.C.-based chain, in its release. 

As part of the program, the company will also honor competitors’ loyalty card promotions if they are printed in the competitive ad, even if they don’t have the loyalty card. “Buy One Get One” offers are also covered, as long as the ad specifies the price.

The move comes as the dollar store channel keeps getting hotter, in part due to Millennial fans. NPD Group reports that visits to dollar stores jumped 14% in the last retail quarter, compared to a 4% decline in the overall brick-and-mortar retail market.

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“Consumers walk into a dollar store with the intention to buy, not to browse, and almost always walk away with something,” writes Marshal Cohen, NPD’s chief industry analyst, in its analysis. “In addition, dollar store traffic has been increasing over the past few years because they have expanded their selection of products, making the channel even more useful and pleasing to price-savvy consumers.”

Some 75% of all shoppers buy something each visit, spending 3% more than they did last year. And the audience is getting younger, with 50% of dollar store shoppers 45 or younger, compared to 42% two years ago. In particular, those in the 16-to-24 age group are fast-growing, with males increasing visits 11% and females up 4%.

Millennials are an “omni-channel and omnipresent age group,” he writes, “and also seek instant gratification and at the lowest price, which is why younger consumers are also increasing their dollar store visits.”

The move comes weeks after Family Dollar, which has 8,000 stores in 46 states, rejected another takeover bid from Dollar General, a cash offer of $9.1 billion, and that it would stick with the $8.5 billion bid it has accepted from Dollar Tree. Certain state attorneys general are reportedly investigating competitive concerns about both offers.

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