With the cost of groceries skyrocketing in the United States and with no signs of inflation slowing down in 2023, there are throngs of people looking for lower-cost solutions to keep their fridges full and their pantries packed without breaking the bank.
There are some TikTokers who share their money-saving supermarket hacks, like this one woman who was able to get a week’s worth of groceries for $35 (per person) at a Dollar Tree in a single visit to a store location. One of the biggest criticisms of the chain, however, is that while it does offer a variety of different food options, shoppers were mostly out of luck when it came to purchasing fresh produce.
However, Dollar Stores like Dollar Tree and Dollar General have been receiving an influx of shoppers looking to save money, which may have influenced these chains to launch “pilot” stores containing larger food offerings, including fresh fruits and vegetables, and bulk items, while still carrying the dollar store staples shoppers are accustomed to purchasing at these budget retailers.
Dollar General, for instance, has launched an offshot of its store brand called DG Market, and one user’s video of the store’s interior is going viral on TikTok.
In the clip, @tomcatbobby records himself walking into the store from the parking lot. The exterior contains the familiar black and yellow Dollar General sign, but with a large “market” sign right beneath it in green. The lowercase letter “r” in the word contains a leaf graphic, intoning that there’s fresh produce inside.
@tomcatbobby First timer in a #dollargeneral ♬ original sound – ItsVyvica
The TikTok user writes in a text overlay of the video: “When you only ever been in a regular DG.” The first interior shot of the Dollar General Market reveals a fully stocked fruits and vegetables section. The clip then transitions to a wall of refrigerators containing juices, yogurts, and other foods, and then a final shot shows off an assortment of beverage sodas of different varieties and packaging, similar to what one would find in a dedicated supermarket.
Dollar General has advertised its Market stores as “Quality at a Great Value,” and has a dedicated website showing off various recipes folks can use to make meals at home with items they can purchase at Market locations.
The outlet 42 Freeway posted an in-depth review of a DG Market location in Elmer, New Jersey summed up the store as such: “start with a standard Dollar General store, and add to it an expanded grocery section, with a larger focus on perishable products.”
They compared DG Market to an Aldi grocery store “with not as many choices but covering a lot of the similar categories.”
TikTokers who saw the post initially thought it was a prank: “Hmmm… is this April Fools?” someone else penned, “Is this the real life? Or is it just fantasy?”
Some were excited to check the chain out: “oh boy now we will be tripping over boxes of food that’s not on the shelf yet. BUT its really awesome I wanna go.”
Others said that their Dollar General store doesn’t carry the “Market” moniker, however, it still contains a freezer section and also carries some produce options: “well I have a normal dollar general and one entire wall is a freezer and also they sell fruits”
One TikToker also mentioned another benefit of shopping at DG Markets: Steep discounts on certain items: “And the clearance almost always has 0.01-.50 items”
Update April 6, 12:01pm CT: A spokesperson for DG Market told the Daily Dot in a statement: “We’re excited to see our customer’s positive reaction to our DG Market format. We launched our DG Market store in 2003 and during the past two decades, we’ve continued to meet communities’ needs through the products customers depend on DG to provide, alongside added fresh produce and meats.”
“We currently have approximately 250 DG Market stores across the country and plan to continue evaluating opportunities to add new DG Market locations. Customers may visit our store locator here and use the filter feature to find their closest DG Market,” the spokesperson continued.
The Daily Dot has reached out to @tomcatbobby via TikTok comment.
