America’s love affair with a good deal is getting bipartisan and bipartisan in income.
Discount retailers like Walmart $WMT ( ▲ 0.21% ) , Dollar General $DG ( ▲ 1.83% ) , Dollar Tree $DLTR ( ▼ 2.14% ) , and Aldi are pulling in shoppers from both ends of the paycheck spectrum in 2025, turning what used to be a recession trade into a full-blown consumer trend.
The gentrification of the bargain aisle
Walmart’s latest earnings offered a surprisingly upscale data point. Executives flagged a full-on croissant craze, saying demand for the bakery item was so strong they had to “remove the shelf” just to keep up. The bigger takeaway was not the pastry, but who was buying it. Management said much of the growth is coming from upper- and middle-income households, a shift Quartz has dubbed the “gentrification of Walmart.”
It is not just Walmart. Discount chains broadly are benefiting from stubbornly high prices and a softer jobs market, but the unexpected twist is who is showing up. According to GlobalData Retail data cited by CBS News, nearly 28 percent of high-income consumers shopped at discount stores this year, up from about 20 percent four years ago.
Aldi’s two-lane growth strategy
Aldi is a clean example of how the model is expanding up and down the income ladder at the same time. The German grocer has nearly doubled its customer base earning over $100,000 since 2021, while also gaining traction with households making under $25,000. Store traffic has surged as Aldi pushes an aggressive US expansion plan, targeting more than 3,200 stores by the end of 2028.
Part of the appeal is product mix. Aldi has leaned into organic produce, pantry staples, and private-label goods that feel premium without premium pricing. That combination is resonating with shoppers who can afford higher prices but no longer want to pay them.
Everyone wants cheaper, even if they can afford more
The common thread is value, not desperation. Higher-income shoppers are increasingly comfortable trading down on groceries and household items, while lower-income consumers are sticking with discount chains out of necessity. That overlap is widening the customer base and giving these retailers more pricing power and scale.
In 2025, bargain hunting is no longer a signal of financial stress. It is just how Americans shop now.