Value retail is winning on trips. Is your brand giving shoppers a reason to make one?

Listen to value retailers this year and one word keeps coming up: trips. Dollar stores, discounters and closeout chains are all describing growth driven by more visits, new shoppers and a reason to come back, rather than bigger baskets.

What they're saying

• Dollar General grew store traffic 1.4% in its first quarter and said shoppers earning over $100,000 are trading down at an accelerated rate. CEO Todd Vasos said the chain is "uniquely positioned" as customers prioritize value and convenience.
• Five Below posted 14% comparable sales growth in its second quarter, driven by more transactions, not bigger tickets. It credits a loop of spotting trends early through social listening, amplifying them on social, and making them easy to find in store.
• Dollar Tree's marketing leadership has said that getting occasional and new shoppers to make one more trip a year would be worth about $1 billion in sales.
• Ollie's grew its loyalty program 13% to more than 18 million members and summed up its strategy in three words: "Value always wins."

The pattern

Put together, the message is clear. Value retail is pulling in new and more affluent shoppers, and the winners are the ones giving them a reason to visit more often: newness, discovery, and stores that are close by.

For brands, that changes the job. Price gets you on the shelf. A reason to make the trip keeps you there.

Questions for brands in the channel

• Are you giving shoppers a reason to visit, or only a reason to buy once they're there?
• Is your media built around store proximity, reaching people near the stores that carry you?
• Can you spot a trend early enough for it to matter on the shelf, not just on social?
• Who is the new shopper in the aisle, and does your packaging and messaging speak to them?
• Can you show the retailer you drove the visit, with sales data by store and by week?

Retailers are telling the market exactly what they need. The brands that help deliver more trips will be the ones that keep their space.