The CEO of Dollar General has said the bar for what counts as a higher-income shopper has changed, as even people on six-figure salaries are struggling with everyday costs.
Speaking at Goldman Sachs Global Consumer and Retail Conference, CEO Todd Vasos said even people who make the once-idealized salary of $100,000 are shopping at his discount store to lighten their financial burden.
Vasos said he notices a change in the demographic of his customers when gas rises above $4 a gallon, The U.S. Sun reported.
Amid the ongoing Iran war, gas is currently sitting at an average of $4.47. The cost of diesel, used for long-haul transportation, has also risen to $6.50 resulting in a rise in consumer costs for trucked goods.
“The interesting thing with this economy, because of the other sustained headwinds of inflation over the years that have passed, even that middle to upper middle is acting more like a lower-income shopper these days,” said Vasos.
President Donald Trump ran in 2024 on the pledge to bring down gas and egg prices and reduce Biden-era inflation. However, since taking office, economists have pointed to the president’s war against Iran and the ensuing energy blockade in the Strait of Hormuz as a leading factor in rising prices.
Consumer prices have risen more than 30 percent in the past seven years, according to an analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data by The New York Times.
Costs are rising for many services and good ranging from insurance, to food, to caregiving, to manufactured products.
“What we're hearing more and more from them is 'I don't feel like I'm higher income at $100,000 any longer,' because of all of the headwinds that I just mentioned,” Vasos told the conference.
“So we believe at Dollar General, we're in a really good position to service all of the different demographics of what we have.”
Vasos added that his usual customer base is people who make under $45,000. When prices rise, they tend to shop closer to home, more frequently and in smaller amounts each time.
Dollar General is not the only affordable shop seeing this demographic shift. Walmart has also reported sales to wealthier customers looking for discounted items.
The wallet squeeze comes right before the midterm elections , which has seen multiple Democrat candidates running on a message of affordability.
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