Dollar stores face backlash because of exploitative practices

Despite strong sales and rapid growth, dollar store brands are receiving increasing backlash for dubious practices like selling expired products and contributing to food deserts by taking over retail space in low-income rural communities.

Dollar General, Dollar Tree, and Family Dollar were collectively fined $1.2 million for selling expired over-the-counter medicine, faulty motor oil, and failing to comply with New York state law policies regarding bottle deposits.

Politicians and industry leaders have started speaking out against the exploitative practices of dollar stores.

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As the retail apocalypse wages on, discount stores like Dollar General, Dollar Tree, and Family Dollar have been seemingly impervious to large-scale closures and substantial sales dips. However, not everyone is viewing the growth of this multi-billion industry as positive.

The backlash continues to swell against dollar stores, largely as a result of their rapid growth in the rural middle- and low-income communities where they're edging out full-service grocery due to perceived competition and lack of retail space. In turn, many individuals in these regions lack access to healthy grocery options and depend on dollar store offerings that lack fresh produce.

Read more: Dollar General is dominating in America. Here's how it keeps its prices so low.

Also adding fuel to the fire is a series of recent lawsuits against the three retailers for selling expired over-the-counter drugs, faulty motor oil, and failing to comply with New York's bottle deposit law. Here's a closer look at the reputational issues plaguing the dollar store industry.