Sector Overview: Mass Merchants — Dollar Stores Expand, Mass Merchandisers Digitalize and Costco Widens Its Lead Among Warehouse Clubs

Executive Summary

Each of our Sector Overview reports provides an essential briefing on a sector or market. In this report, we look at discount stores, mass merchandisers and warehouse clubs.

• Macroeconomic data continue to support strong consumption.
• Consumers embraced “cheap chic” during the Global Financial Crisis of 2007–2008 — and stayed at the value end of the spectrum.
• Mass merchants are embracing private label, deploying technology such as robots to improve the shopping experience, be more efficient and take on Amazon.
• Dollar stores continue lead retail in terms of growth in new stores.
• The group, in general, has not widely embraced e-commerce, however Costco, Target and Walmart are aggressively doing so.
• Costco is leading the pack in terms of comparable sales growth and driving an acceleration in its ecommerce efforts.
• Activity in the sector is benefiting from the return of BJ’s Wholesale Club as a public company and startups that are leveraging e-commerce to take on the incumbents.