A Dollar Tree supporter says newcomers and influencers are embracing “broke” culture by shopping at the discount retailer.
Kirst (@klehmma5), a personal wellness trainer on the platform, said that wealthier newcomers, who see the Dollar Tree as a tailored and immersive new experience, are clearing out their inventory of items that they and other shoppers buy for financial reasons.
In a viral TikTok that garnered over 233,000 views on Sunday, Kirst urged these shoppers to “save something for the poor people.” She says many of her videos, which feature the pretty and sophisticated products they can get at the Dollar Tree for bargain prices, significantly limit retail options for her and other shoppers who have no choice about where to shop.
Kirst begins her video with a simple message to any TikTokers who post Dollar Tree-related content: you should stop immediately.
“To all the girls out there making these Dollar Tree finds: Dollar Tree hacks videos. As someone who actually shops at the Dollar Tree because she has to, I'm here to politely tell you to stop,” she says. “Just stop making these videos. Those of us who shop at the Dollar Tree shop there because we can’t afford these items at regular stores.”
She recounts a scenario in which she runs to the Dollar Tree to pick up a few items, only to be greeted with “bare shelves.”
“And it just so happened that I saw a video on my For You pages 2 or 3 of girls going downstairs and grabbing ten, twenty, thirty items that Dollar Tree finds, you know, oh come get these at the Dollar Tree. ” She says. “And that's crazy in itself because you're literally there spending $30, $40, $50 at the Dollar Store, like, 'Oh my God, I got all this for $50.'” I leave Go in there with a $10 limit, okay?”
@klehmma5 Don't take me too seriously, I felt like I was a Karen today 💁🏼♀️ But it's very annoying when your choice of affordable products is “on trend” and you no longer have access to them 😩 #dollartreefinds # dollartreemakeupfinds #ballinonabudget #fyp ♬ Original sound – Your free life coach||Kirst 💕
After delving into the financial discrepancies between herself and Dollar Tree's influencer shoppers, while acknowledging that different people shop at Dollar Tree for different reasons, she listed the audiences the retailer primarily serves and that wealthy influencers destroy the shopping experience for “poor” people.
“I understand that we are not all there for the same things, but older people, pensioners, welfare recipients, single mothers, single parents, large families, low-income families, we go there to shop because we can “You can’t do things in normal stores,” she says. “You guys blow up the spot and ruin it for all of us poor people, okay?”
One item that Kirst says has been in short supply at Dollar Tree since the content boom is a popular beauty product that she can't afford at any other store.
“For example, eyelashes, I see eyelashes popping all the time,” she says. “The ones I would buy at the Dollar Tree and they're no longer available and I can't afford eyelash extensions. I already shop at Dollar Tree for good reason. And now my eyelashes are no longer there? For example, what do you want, that we are all ugly? Constantly looking bald? Please, people, just save this stuff, please save it for us poor people.”
One commenter who saw Kirst's video didn't seem to take too kindly to her rant, writing: “Really – you want to control how and where people shop? The boldness.”
This perspective seemed to confuse Kirst, who wrote in a response: “Interesting what you made of it.”
The TikToker also said in a caption that she wasn't entirely serious about her criticism, adding: “Don't take me too seriously, I felt like a Karen today. But it's very annoying when you choose affordable products. “Start setting trends and you won't have access to them anymore.”
The glorification and usurpation of poor culture by richer people is a topic that is often discussed. In the fashion world, the Columbia Political Review has dubbed this phenomenon “cosplaying poverty.”
In 2017, Nordstrom became embroiled in something of an online controversy involving Mike Rowe from the television series Dirty Jobs, who called out the clothing retailer for selling the fake, dirty jeans for $425. He criticized the pants as “a costume for wealthy people who see work as ironic – not iconic.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Dollar Tree via email and Kirst via TikTok comment.
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*First published: January 28, 2024, 3:00 p.m. CST
Jack Alban
Jack Alban is a freelance journalist for the Daily Dot covering current human interest/social media issues and how real people are reacting to them. He always strives to incorporate evidence-based studies, current events, and facts relevant to those stories to create your not-so-average viral post.
