US Dollar Stores Face a Slowdown—Is Temu To Blame?

What's Inside

While, historically, dollar stores have been known to thrive during tough economic times, leading US dollar-store chains are currently experiencing sluggish growth. Is Temu a principal reason for the weakness seen at Dollar General and Dollar Tree? We analyze proprietary Coresight Research survey data to assess whether Temu has played a role in the recent underperformance of dollar stores, as well as what Temu means for the US retail space at large.

Data in this research report include:

• Average age and household income of nonfood shoppers at various retailers, including Dollar General, Dollar Tree and Temu, 2024
• Proportion of dollar stores shoppers buying nonfood products on Temu and share of total US consumers shopping on Temu, October 2023–September 2024
• Proportion of shoppers who switched part of their nonfood spending from another retailer to Temu, October 2024

Companies mentioned in this report include: Amazon, Dollar General, Dollar Tree, Target, Temu, Walmart

Other relevant research:

• Market Outlook: Off-Price Is On Top as Growth Continues
• Temu Growth and Challenges in the US Market: A Six-Month Follow-Up
• Weinswig’s Weekly: Temu vs. Shein