Could a price increase see Dollar Tree lose Borderland customers?

EL PASO, Texas -- The buck has stopped at Dollar Tree. The store known for selling items for just a dollar is now hiking up the prices.

Dollar Tree said it would start selling products at $1.25, $1.50 or other prices slightly above its usual dollar due to the current supply chain slowdowns being seen across the world.

"They're going to lose a lot of people,” Lynda Delacruz said. 

The El Pasoan shops at a Dollar Tree about four times a week to buy a range of things including soaps, toilet paper and pasta. But now the price might start outweighing the convenience.

“Everything is a dollar and it's easier to just go in there and get the stuff then to go to Walmart to get the stuff,” Delacruz said. “But them increasing the prices is going to make me want to stop going in to buy stuff.”

Monica Aldez, an early child special needs teacher in the Borderland, told ABC-7 she uses Dollar Tree to buy supplies for her classroom. 

“I think overall it will still be less expensive than most places so i'll probably continue to use it regardless of the price increase,” Aldez said. 

The chief executive of Dollar Tree said the above-$1 price point allows the company to offer new products such as more frozen meat or seasonal items.

The discounter has experimented with selling items for $3 and $5 since 2019 in a shelf section labeled 'Dollar Tree plus,' something the chief executive says has received positive customer feedback.