Family Dollar adding alcohol to 1,000 stores

In the first quarter, budget store Family Dollar quietly added adult beverages to the shelves at 45 of its stores. Now, it’s planning on expanding that to 1,000 select stores nationwide, the company reports.

In a news release, Dollar Tree — the parent company — announced it was executing a “store optimization program” for its Family Dollar stores to improve performance.

“We are simply providing customers with a convenient option to purchase adult beverage product while shopping for everyday needs at their neighborhood store,” Dollar Tree’s media relations manager Kayleigh Painter told The New York Times.

Painter didn’t say which stores would be getting alcohol, nor how much it would cost.

The move is part of a planned expansion of freezers and coolers in about 400 Family Dollar stores this year. The company also announced it would be closing up to 390 underperforming Family Dollar stores, and re-bannering about 200 Family Dollar stores to the Dollar Tree in 2019.

“Adding alcohol will be helpful inasmuch as it will drive some additional footfall into the stores and those customers will likely go on to purchase other products, such as snacks,” said Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData Retail, to the Times. “However, adding alcohol is not a silver bullet for Family Dollar.”

Family Dollar serves low- and middle-income areas with more than 8,000 stores in the United States.