Some items could coast you a lot more than a dollar soon.
“I’m a single mom so it’s hard to afford everything,” Jolie Vizier, who lives in Breaux Bridge said.
Vizier is at Dollar Tree almost everyday shopping for essential items for herself and her son.
“I buy a lot of stuff like snacks and stuff just to take home it's cheaper you know?” Vizier asked.
The company announced last week that 3,000 Dollar Trees will raise the price of items as part of their multi-price point strategy.
The cost of those items will increase from $5 to $7 this year.
The AP reported Dollar Tree’s Chairman & Chief Executive Officer Rick Dreiling revealed this in an earnings call in early March.
Vizier said she’s considering shopping elsewhere if the Breaux Bridge Dollar Tree is hit with the increase.
“I don’t really like it,” Vizier said. “I mean, I feel like if I wanted to pay like that I could go to Walmart, you know it’s better quality.”
According to the U.S. Department of Labor the state of Louisiana’s hourly wage is $7.25. A number that has stayed stagnant since 2009, and a concern Vizier raises as prices increase.
“The prices everywhere is going up but not the pay,” Vizier said. “So, it's a little rough.”
Drew Green lives nearby the store. He said the increase won’t stop him from buying necessities. He said he knew this “would happen one day.”
“I think it's ghetto, but it is what it is at this point,” Green said. “I’ll still come pay seven dollars isn’t really that high for me. So it’s still in my price range.”
Blake Babineaux said he’s not for the increase and it would make him shop on a budget.
“It would kinda make me not wanna spend too much if that makes sense,” Babineaux said.
“I think there’s a lot going on with the economy, I think that they could do better and I think that they could just keep the price where it is, so people wouldn’t have to really pay more for what the price are right now.”
Dreiling said you can expect to pay more for food, pet and personal items.
