TikTokers are a 'destructive' shop for the poor

Newcomers and influencers are taking over the “broke” culture by shopping at budget retailers, a Dollar Tree fan says.

Kirst (@klehmma5), a personal wellness coach on the platform, said more affluent newcomers who view Dollar Tree as a personalized and interesting new experience are liquidating inventory of items she and other shoppers rely on buying out of financial necessity.

In a viral TikTok video with more than 233,000 views as of Sunday, Kirst urged these shoppers to “save some for the poor.” She says many of their videos, which focus on stylish products they get at Dollar Tree for a steal, severely limit retail options for her and other shoppers who have no other choice of where to shop.

Kirst begins her video with a simple message to all TikTokers who post Dollar Tree-related content: They should stop doing so immediately.

“To all the girls who are making these Dollar Tree discoveries, these Dollar Tree hack videos. As someone who actually shops at Dollar Tree, because they have to, I'm here to politely say stop,” she says. “Just stop making these videos. Those of us who shop at Dollar Tree, we shop there because we can't buy these items in regular stores.

She shares a scenario where she runs to the Dollar Tree to pick up some items, only to be greeted with “bare shelves.”

“And I happened to see a video pop up on my For You page videos 2 or 3 of girls coming down and grabbing ten, twenty, thirty items that Dollar Tree finds and you know, come get these items from Dollar Tree,” she says. “And that's just crazy in itself because you guys literally go out there and spend $30, $40, $50 at the dollar store and it's like I got all of this for $50. I'm walking in there with a maximum of $10, okay?

@klehmma5 Don't take me seriously, I felt like a Karen today 💁🏼‍♀️ but it's so annoying when affordable products start “trending” and you stop getting there 😩 #dollartreefinds #dollartreemakeupfinds #ballinonabudget #fyp ♬ Original Audio – Your Free Life Coach || Kirst 💕

After delving into the financial discrepancies between herself and Dollar Tree influencer shoppers, while acknowledging that different people shop at Dollar Tree for different reasons, she listed the demographics the retailer primarily serves, and that wealthy influencers are ruining the experience for “poor” people.

“I understand that we're not all there for the same things, but seniors, retirees, people living on Social Security, single mothers, lone parents, large families, low-income families, we go there to shop because we can't buy things at home,” she says. Regular stores.” “You guys blow the place up and ruin it for all us poor people, okay?”

One item that Kirst says has been in short supply since the Dollar Tree content boom is a popular beauty product that she can't afford at another store.

“For example, eyelashes, I see eyelashes puffing out all the time,” she says. “The ones I would get at Dollar Tree and they're not there anymore, it's like I can't afford eyelash extensions. I actually shop at Dollar Tree for a reason. And now my eyelashes are not there? Like what do you just want us all to be ugly? Look bald all the time? Please, guys, love saving these things, save them for us poor people, please.

One commenter who saw Kirst's video didn't seem to take kindly to her rant, writing: “Really – you want to control how people shop and where? Boldness.”

This view appears to have confused Kirst, who wrote in her response: “Interesting that's what I got from this.”

The TikToker also said in a comment that she wasn't entirely serious with her criticism, adding: “Don't take me seriously, I felt like Karen today but it's so annoying when you go for affordable products.” “You start a 'trend' and you stop getting there.”

The glamorization of poor culture and its usurpation of wealthier individuals is a much discussed topic. In the world of fashion, Columbia Political Review This phenomenon has been called “Representing poverty.”

In 2017, Nordstrom found itself at the center of an online controversy involving Mike Rowe of the TV series Dirty Jobs, who criticized the clothing retailer for selling a pair of fake muddy jeans for $425. He criticized trousers as “a costume for the wealthy who consider work ridiculous – not creative.”

The Daily Dot reached out to Dollar Tree via email and Kirst via TikTok comment.

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