As Dollar Stores Spread Across The Nation, Crime And Safety Concerns Follow

By MoneyWatch, CBS Los Angeles

September 7, 2023

Dollar stores are one of the bright spots in America's ailing brick-and-mortar retail industry: These discount retailers will represent one-third of all new store openings in the U.S. this year. Their ubiquity, however, is prompting questions about their low-cost operations, impact on communities and worker safety.

The stores, which sell items for $1 each or slightly higher, provide communities with much-needed discount products, ranging from household staples like groceries to Halloween decorations. But workers and labor advocates are increasingly warning that the cheap items come at a price for their communities.

Some of these issues were raised after last month's racially motivated attack at a Jacksonville, Florida-based Dollar General store when a White man killed a 19-year-old employee and two customers. All three victims were Black. The gunman took his own life. The incident occurred after the attacker had earlier driven to a Family Dollar store, according to Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters, who noted that the man had previously worked at a Dollar Tree.

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