US dollar store food shopping is rising, but consumers buy healthier options elsewhere

A new multi-year analysis of US household shopping stresses that dollar store food purchases are growing. Although the items purchased — often convenient, calorie-rich snacks — were generally less healthy compared to those served in other food outlets. Families are balancing these purchases with more nutritious items elsewhere, according to the report led by Tufts University School of Medicine.

Between 2008 and 2020, researchers examined food purchases made by 180,000 nationally representative US households. They combined this information with data from the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Economic Research Service’s Purchase to Plate Crosswalk tool to estimate the dietary quality of these food purchases.

The analysis found that calories obtained from dollar store items have nearly doubled, growing from 3.4% to 6.5% of a household’s total purchases, particularly among households with lower incomes or those headed by people of color.

“The literature suggests that people go to different types of stores for different reasons and the dollar store is one that people choose because of the price advantage,” says first author Wenhui Feng, Tufts Health Plan professor of Health Care Policy Research and assistant professor of public health and community medicine at the School of Medicine.

“There are a lot of concerns that foods on dollar store shelves are less healthy, but what’s on the shelf does not equal what each household takes home. Our study looks at how healthy the foods purchased in dollar stores are and compares that with the healthfulness of each household’s overall food purchases.”

As the fastest-growing food retailer in the US in the past decade, dollar stores have transformed the retail landscape with at least 37,000 physical locations nationwide. The study notes their presence is particularly strong in the South and outside of cities. 

While known for carrying a wide range of products, these retailers also sell packaged foods and beverages that are high in calories and low in nutrients, with only a small percentage of outlets carrying produce or meats.

Reflecting more nuanced behaviors

The study finds that the average household is getting 55% of their non-restaurant calories from grocery stores and 22% from club stores. It confirms that items purchased from dollar stores are less healthy than those purchased elsewhere on average.

The study findings also reflect more nuanced shopper behaviors, especially for rural households, where the nearest grocery store is often farther from home than the local dollar store.

The study confirms that items purchased from dollar stores are less healthy than those purchased elsewhere on average.However, while these budget-friendly outlets offer discounts for lower-quality products — even the most frequent shoppers at these retailers are getting over 90% of their calories from other outlets on average, note the authors.

“Some people seem to be going to dollar stores strategically to buy sweets and snacks, along with other packaged foods,” says senior author Sean Cash, Bergstrom Foundation professor in Global Nutrition and Chair of the Division of Agriculture, Food and Environment at the university’s Friedman School.

However, he affirms that people who buy more of those at dollar stores seem to be buying less elsewhere. “We need more data on the real effects of dollar stores on healthy eating, as some communities may be putting the policy cart before the horse.”

Notably, due to competition with local businesses and security issues from reported understaffing, more research is needed to validate their actual impact on US consumers.

At least 25 local governments have established policies restricting their expansion, but the effectiveness of these measures is unknown, stress the researchers.

This study was supported in part by a USDA Economic Research Service Cooperative Agreement and a Tufts University Springboard award. It is published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. 

In 2023, a CSPI survey revealed that low-income consumers are keenly interested in nutritious options at dollar stores.