Shoppers are turning to $2 dollar shops to purchase Christmas gifts this year and their kids’ school items in preparation for the 2024 school year as the cost of living pressures impact household spending.
Winston Glades Tivity Discount Variety Owner Manager Pratik Gandhi says keeping up with the unprecedented surge in sales has meant the business has had to increase stock inventory and work longer hours to stay on top of demand.
“Since October, we started to see a dramatic increase in sales across the store and in particular, a few categories including Christmas decorations, homewares, gardening and school supplies”, Mr Gandhi said.
“Shoppers are coming from far and wide to visit our store and purchase Christmas lights and decorations and Christmas gifts. They are also buying items for the home and garden. We have quite a big range of gardening tools, sprays and ornaments.
“Customers are also buying school items for their children in preparation for the 2024 school year. Many shoppers are telling us that they normally purchase notepads, pencil cases, pens and pencils and other items at Officeworks or Kmart, but this year, they are buying them here”, Mr Gandhi said.
“Our products are significantly cheaper than other stores. We focus on sourcing and stocking quality yet affordable items that meet the needs of households who are budget conscious.”
According to Mr Gandhi, the concept of a $2 dollar shop has really changed over the last few years. They are now highly affordable discount variety stores that focus on providing a broad range of products at the lowest price possible.
“Rather than stocking a number of different brands of products, we offer a smaller selection of brands within categories that offer the best reliability and price”, Mr Gandhi said.
“This enables us to ensure we are highly competitive from a price point of view. We are also able to offer a wider range of product categories under a small footprint which helps to reduce costs even further. We can then pass on the savings to our customers and focus on delivering the highest level of customer service possible”.
Mr Gandhi believes that the cost of living crisis is helping to showcase the importance, versatility and cost effectiveness of $2 dollar shops across the country.
“We are not only seeing a lot of our regular customers coming in to purchase items, we are also welcoming a lot of new customers”, Mr Gandhi said.
“Traditionally, $2 dollar shops have been seen as a bit of fun for people to visit and purchase affordable gifts, cards, wrapping paper and other similar items.
“Now, customers are realising that we offer many of the same products as other big retailers, but for a fraction of the price. Basket sizes are increasing and we are welcoming more customers. Why pay double for your child’s school supplies, when you can purchase everything you need here at the $2 store.”
Winston Glades Shopping Centre owner, JMK Retail, General Manager Vicki Leavy says, “$2 dollar shops have evolved considerably over the last few years to become an important element of a household’s shopping experience.
“We expect to see many more opening across our portfolio of centres as customers seek out more cost-effective solutions for their shopping.
“Winston Glades Tivity Discount Variety store is located in a great centre in Flinders View. It includes plenty of free parking, easy walk-in access and is surrounded by other great stores including Drakes IGA, Café 63, QML Pathology and much more.”