In recent years, the proliferation of dollar stores across the United States has transformed the landscape of food retailing, particularly for economically vulnerable populations. Researchers affiliated with Tufts University School of Medicine, the Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, and the USDA Economic Research Service have conducted an extensive multi-year analysis examining how these discount outlets influence American dietary habits. Their findings, published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, provide nuanced insights into purchasing patterns, nutritional quality, and the complex role dollar stores play within the broader food environment.
The researchers undertook a comprehensive study of household food acquisitions from 2008 through 2020, leveraging scanner data from approximately 180,000 nationally representative households. This dataset was meticulously merged with the USDA’s Purchase to Plate Crosswalk tool, enabling an estimation of the nutritional quality of foods purchased across different retail outlets. A central focus was placed on dollar stores, given their rapid expansion and increasing market share in food retail over the past decade. The analysis revealed that calories sourced from dollar store purchases have nearly doubled during the study period, climbing from 3.4% to 6.5% of overall household food calories.
Such an increase is especially pronounced in lower-income households and those headed by people of color, highlighting critical socioeconomic dimensions of the ongoing shifts in food retail. Dollar stores’ rising prominence is particularly evident in rural and underserved regions where traditional grocery stores are scarce. Despite their price appeal, these stores tend to stock calorie-dense, nutrient-poor products, such as packaged snacks and sugary beverages, while offering limited fresh produce or meats. Nevertheless, these outlets constitute just a fraction of most households’ total food acquisitions, with over 90% of calories still procured from other sources, including grocery and club stores.
First author Wenhui Feng, associate professor at Tufts School of Medicine, underscores the importance of distinguishing between the mere presence of less healthy products on dollar store shelves and the actual dietary choices households make. “What’s on the shelf does not equal what each household takes home,” Feng notes. Their analysis thus contextualizes dollar stores within a diversified shopping strategy, revealing how families may balance purchasing less nutritious items from dollar stores with more wholesome foods from other retailers.
This comprehensive research not only quantifies dollar stores’ growing footprint but also nuances prevailing assumptions about their public health impact. The dollar store phenomenon is not monolithic; rather, it reflects adaptive consumer behaviors shaped by price sensitivity, geographic access, and cultural preferences. While many consumers use dollar stores primarily to obtain affordable indulgent snacks and packaged goods, these purchases appear to substitute rather than add to similar items bought elsewhere. Senior author Sean Cash from the Friedman School elaborates, “People who buy more from dollar stores seem to buy less elsewhere, suggesting strategic, rather than indiscriminate, shopping.”
Despite the apparent substitution effect, the study raises ongoing concerns regarding the nutritional deficiencies inherent in dollar store offerings. Their typical inventory is characterized by a preponderance of calorie-rich, nutrient-poor items that may exacerbate diet-related chronic diseases, especially in populations already burdened by health disparities. The researchers emphasize the urgent need for more granular data examining the long-term health effects of reliance on dollar stores, cautioning against premature policy interventions aimed at restricting their expansion without robust evidence of harm.
Dollar stores represent the fastest growing food retail sector in the United States, with at least 37,000 shops nationwide, predominantly concentrated in the South and suburban or rural areas. Their rapid growth and market penetration have provoked widespread scrutiny from public health advocates, local governments, and economic stakeholders. Concerns extend beyond nutrition to encompass the impact of dollar stores on local economies and small business ecosystems, as well as reported challenges related to understaffing and security.
About 25 local jurisdictions have enacted policies to limit dollar store proliferation, motivated by fears of undermining neighborhood grocery stores and worsening food deserts. However, the effectiveness of these legislative measures remains uncertain. This study’s findings complicate the narrative by illustrating that, although dollar store purchases are generally less healthy, households still acquire the majority of their calories from grocery and club stores, where nutritional quality tends to be higher. This suggests that outright restrictions may not fully address underlying issues of food access and affordability.
The methodological rigor of the study derives from its use of large-scale scanner data combined with the USDA’s Purchase to Plate Crosswalk, enabling a precise estimation of dietary quality at the household level. Such data integration represents an advance in nutritional epidemiology, offering a window into real-world shopping behaviors rather than relying solely on self-reported dietary surveys. This empirical approach provides critical evidence to inform public health policies, retailer practices, and community-level interventions aimed at improving diet quality.
The evolving role of dollar stores within the food ecosystem underscores the complexity of contemporary food access challenges in the United States. They offer lower prices and convenience, critical for many households facing financial constraints and geographic barriers to full-service grocery stores. At the same time, reliance on dollar stores for staple foods may pose trade-offs in nutrient intake, necessitating a balanced perspective that considers both economic and health outcomes.
Ultimately, the researchers call for further investigation to disentangle the intricate dynamics between food retail trends, consumer behavior, and health. This includes exploring how dollar stores interact with other food outlets, examining the potential for in-store interventions to improve the nutritional profile of available products, and assessing the broader socioeconomic context influencing food purchasing decisions. As dollar stores continue to expand and reshape American food retail, such multidimensional research will be vital to guiding evidence-based policies that support both food security and dietary health.
Subject of Research: The nutritional quality and purchasing patterns of foods acquired at dollar stores in the United States.
Article Title: The Healthfulness of Foods Purchased at Dollar Stores: Insights from Household Scanner Data from 2008 to 2020
News Publication Date: 11-Aug-2025
Web References:
– Tufts University School of Medicine: https://medicine.tufts.edu/
– Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University: https://nutrition.tufts.edu/
– USDA Economic Research Service: https://www.ers.usda.gov/
– Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2025.07.001
Keywords: Public health, Nutrition
