Consumer Alert: Get ready to pay more than a buck at Dollar Tree

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WHEC) — There are few things in life you can count on: The sun will rise in the east; It will snow in Rochester, and everything at Dollar Tree is a dollar. But Thursday we learned we can only count on two of those things. Everything at Dollar Tree will no longer be a dollar. The retailer is raising prices.

Reading that news was like learning Pluto’s not really a planet. Hard to believe. But it’s true. Retail leaders announced they’ll raise prices as high as $1.50.

Since 1986, you’ve been able to walk into any Dollar Tree and trust that every product on the shelves is a dollar, from food to toys to cleaning supplies. But as I’ve told you, during the pandemic, shipping costs have skyrocketed because of severe supply chain issues, and the Dollar Tree chain is especially sensitive to the rising cost of importing products.

This week, Dollar Tree CEO Michael Witynski said, "For decades, our customers have enjoyed the ‘thrill of the hunt’ for value at one dollar – and we remain committed to that core proposition – but many are telling us that they also want a broader product assortment when they come to shop."

Let me translate that. If you want to continue to be able to shop for everything from food to toys to cleaning supplies, Dollar Tree needs to raise prices to make money. And while company leaders blame current supply chain issues, executives have been toying with the prospect of price hikes for a while. In 2019, they opened Dollar Tree Plus stores which sell items for up to $5.

Facebook leaders in the hot seat on Capitol Hill

Lastly, Facebook was on the hot seat today on Capitol Hill. And it mattered not whether that lawmaker had an "R" or a "D" following his or her name, senator after senator called Facebook a greedy company that placed money over the well-being of children. You may remember two weeks ago I told you about a damning investigation by the Wall Street Journal.

It exposed Facebook’s internal studies that showed Instagram is toxic for one in three teenage girls.

Lawmakers railed against the company for withholding that information and called for regulation to reign in the social media giant.
Facebook leaders say the research was taken out of context.

Meanwhile, the whistleblower who gave Facebook’s internal documents to journalists will appear before senators next week.

If you’re concerned about your teenager’s Instagram use, there are a number of things you can do.

Here’s Deanna’s Do List for parents:

• Follow your kid on Instagram.
• Tell her to hide her likes. Facebook research shows that the number of likes your daughter gets on a posted picture is a source of serious anxiety.
• Take control. You can do that with parental controls. You also need to fully understand the ins and outs of Instagram. I found Parents’ Ultimate Guide to Instagram really helpful.