Dollar Tree will sell items for $7, straying further from its single-price model

• Dollar Tree is increasing its price ceiling to $7, an uptick from $5 in June.
• The chain wants to offer shoppers a more "relevant assortment," CEO Rick Dreiling said.

The Dollar Tree is straying even further from its thrifty roots.

The company has gradually raised its price ceiling: Last June, the most you could expect to spend became $5. This year, it'll be $7, executive chairman and CEO Rick Dreiling said in an earnings call Wednesday.

It's part of Dollar Tree's "multi-price point strategy" to offer shoppers a more "relevant assortment," Dreiling said. Most of the new customers it added in 2023 came from households earning more than $125,000 annually, he added.

"This year, across 3,000 stores, we expect to expand our multi-price assortment by over 300 items at price points ranging from $1.50 to $7," Dreiling said.

Higher-priced items will include "food and snacks, beverages, pet care, personal care, and more," he said.

But rest assured: Dreiling said the "vast majority" of Dollar Tree's offer will remain at its entry price, which is $1.25.

In June, Dollar Tree said it planned to raise prices for certain food items as high as $5. On Wednesday, Dreiling said the company had "substantially completed" a rollout of frozen and refrigerated foods priced between $3 and $5 at 6,500 stores.

It's further proof that dollar stores aren't really dollar stores anymore — even as competitors like Dollar General have sold items at a variety of prices for years.

Separately, Dollar Tree also announced this week it was shuttering 1,000 Family Dollar stores — representing 12% of its total store count — after acquiring the chain in 2015.

Dollar Tree also said on the earnings call that it continues to contend with rising theft issues at Family Dollar — one of many factors behind the planned closures. As a result, the company has locked up certain products and placed others behind registers in order to crack down.