To say the least, the dollar stores had a difficult 2023 and ’24, and best signified by 99C Only going away and new leadership being appointed at Dollar General, Dollar Tree, Family Dollar, and Five Below. With the new leadership teams, each pivoted to a “back-to-basics” strategy, or as we like to say, “retail is detail.” Well the details are being done right given the strengthening traffic and even better comp-sales results.

As previewed , July retail sales accelerated from June’s slower pace due to: first, a strong and early start to back-to-school, second, less disruptive weather, and third, a lessening of consumer uncertainty about inflation, as shown in the chart below. (The New York Fed’s survey also showed that expectations for the rate of inflation 1-year out also dropped for those with a household income above $100K). We suspect that the first was the largest factor, and as such, underlying retail sales should slow (ex.