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A12 BUSINESS
Friday 26 august 2022

Inflation is driving Americans to

bargain chain stores

By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO
AP Retail Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — Dollar
Tree and Dollar General
reported rising sales in the
second quarter as four-de-
cade high inflation drove
more customers to bargain
chain stores for everything
from lightbulbs to groceries.
Dollar stores tend to sell
items in small quantities,
not big packages, allowing
low-income customers to
buy a little at a time.
As with previous recessions, A clerk brings in a shopping basket at a Dollar Tree store in
higher income shoppers Richland, Miss., Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2019.
are returning to bargain Associated Press
chains as they trade down
to cut spending where they apeake, Virginia, reported decades as shoppers are
can. second-quarter profits that experiencing higher costs
But Dollar Tree and Dollar exceeded expectations related to food, fuel, rent
General are also grappling though sales were a bit and more,” Richard Dreil-
with rising costs that are shy of projections. It cut its ing, the company’s execu-
rippling through their sup- profit expectations for the tive chairman, said on a
ply chains. Profits are being year and narrowed its sales conference call Thursday.
squeezed as shoppers nar- projections. “Supply chains have been
row their focus on neces- Dollar Tree is still trying to in- strained and inconsistent.
sities like groceries, which corporate the Family Dollar Inventory levels are higher
have more narrow profit business that it acquired in across retail, and consum-
margins. 2015. er shopping patterns con-
Dollar Tree, based in Ches- “Inflation is at its highest in tinue to zig and zag.”q

Amazon to shutter virtual health care

service Amazon Care

NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon according to an email sent made it available last year
is shutting down the hybrid to staff by Neil Lindsay, se- to its workers in all 50 states.
virtual, in-home care ser- nior vice president of Ama- The service connects pa-
vice it’s spent years devel- zon Health Services. tients virtually with doctors
oping, a surprising move Amazon Care was and nurses who can pro-
that underscores the chal- launched in 2019 for Se- vide treatment 24 hours a
lenges it faces as it moves attle-based Amazon’s day. It does not have physi-
into health care. Washington state employ- cal locations, but offers in-
The service, called Amazon ees, who served as trial us- person services for things
Care, will end by Dec. 31, ers before the company like vaccinations and flu
testing in several cities, in-
cluding Seattle and Wash-
ington, D.C.
Amazon’s decision to pull
the plug on Amazon Care
is even more surprising
given the company said in
February it was planning to
expand the in-person care
service to include 20 addi-
tional cities.
Last summer, Amazon also
began offering the service
to private employers na-
tionwide.
In the email sent to staff,
An Amazon logo appears on a delivery van, Oct. 1, 2020, in Lindsay wrote that Amazon
Boston. Amazon is shutting down the hybrid virtual, in-home
care service it’s spent years developing. The service, called listened to feedback from
Amazon Care, will end by Dec. 31, 2022. employers and worked to
Associated Press improve Amazon Care.q