Discount and dollar stores are showing signs of strength heading into the busiest part of the holiday season, according to a new analysis of foot traffic to the largest US off-price chains.

All showed foot traffic gains in the second half of the year, with October growth of 20.9%, 16.1%, 26.7%, and 54.1% for Family Dollar, Dollar Tree, Dollar General, and Five Below, respectively, according to Placer.ai's Bracha Arnold.  And digging into year-over-year trends tells a similar story, with foot traffic to Family Dollar and Five Below remaining above 2021 levels every month this year and registering visit growth of 1.7% and 2.3%, respectively, in October 2022.

"Dollar General saw YoY foot traffic increases almost every month except October, when visits fell just 3.1% relative to October 2021," Arnold sats. "Meanwhile, Dollar Tree saw slight YoY dips, but this is in comparison to last year's strong performance, and not a reflection of reduced consumer demand."