Dollar stores have conquered the United States, in an era where a “retail apocalypse” is slowly decimating brick and mortar retail shopping. The spread of these dollar stores is also deeply tied to issues of income inequality in the U.S. It’s argued that not only do these institutions benefit from poverty, but also that they perpetuate it. It has even led to some communities to limit the spread of dollar stores in their towns. So how did the dollar store conquer the U.S. – and what is their real impact?

SOURCES:

Annals of the American Association of Geographers
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/24694452.2020.1775544

The Institute for Local Self-Reliance
https://ilsr.org/dollar-stores-target-cities-towns-one-fights-back/
https://ilsr.org/new-maps-dollar-stores-spread/

Dollar General
https://aboutus.dollargeneral.com/corporate-social-responsibility/

The Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2012/12/20/antitrust-was-defined-by-robert-bork-i-cannot-overstate-his-influence/

Visual Capitalist
https://www.visualcapitalist.com/dollar-stores-thriving-in-america/

ProPublica / The New Yorker
https://www.propublica.org/article/how-dollar-stores-became-magnets-for-crime-and-killing

CNN Business
https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/19/business/dollar-general-opposition/index.html

Mental Floss
https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/610508/how-dollar-stores-make-money

Britannica
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Miller-Tydings-Act-of-1937

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