With online shopping and the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, “brick-and-mortar” stores in Illinois are struggling to survive, but dollar stores continue to be a success story.
Dollar Tree, Family Dollar and Dollar General continue to expand, especially in rural areas. Dollar General was the top chain for new locations in 2019, and 75 percent of its outlets were in towns with a population under 20-thousand. It has grown to over 16,000 outlets last year with 135,000 employees. There are 89 Illinois cities that are home to Dollar General outlets.
Dr. Chris Merrett from the Institute for Rural Affairs at Western Illinois University in Macomb, calls it a “counter-intuitive business model”, especially for Dollar General, with 42 percent located in rural areas.
