Products

Variety store products include cooking supplies, small tools, personal hygiene supplies, kitchen supplies, organizational supplies, small office supplies, holiday decorations, electronics supplies, gardening supplies, home decor novelties, toys, pet supplies, out of print books, DVDs and VHS tapes, food products and automotive supplies.

Some items sold at a certain price point would cost that much anyway, whereas other items offer a substantially lower price than usual. There are three reasons a variety store is able to sell merchandise at such a low price:

• The product is a generic or private label, often specially manufactured for such stores, using cheaper ingredients and processes than products intended for the mass market.
• The product was manufactured cheaply for a foreign market but was then re-imported by an unauthorized distributor (grey market goods).
• The product is purchased from another retail store or distributor as discontinued and discounted merchandise. (Often items were manufactured to coincide with the promotion of a motion picture, television show or special event (e.g. Olympic games), and are past their prime price.)

Some stores carry mostly new merchandise, some mostly closeout merchandise bought from other stores below regular wholesale cost.

Depending upon the size, some variety stores may have a frozen food and drink section, and also one with fruits and vegetables. The Deal$, Dollar Tree, and 99 Cents Only Store chains in the U.S. are three such examples. Some stores may have a section of single price point items combined on the same premises with a section selling larger, relatively more expensive merchandise like CD players, lamps, and silverware. The flagship store of Jack's 99 and Jack's World in New York City is an example of such a store. Jack's 99 carries all types of items that retail for 99 cents, whereas Jack's World sells branded goods at discount prices.

Economics

In economic terms, the pricing strategy of variety stores is inefficient as some items may actually be sold elsewhere at a lower price. However, this is balanced by the marketing efficiencies of a single price structure and consumers accept potentially overpriced items. The pricing inefficiency becomes unacceptable at higher price points. Thus there are no "100 dollar stores" where all items sell for $100; consumers expect to pay the correct amount as inaccuracies result in significant dollar amounts.Fact: date=January 2009

In many developed countries, stock can be imported from states with lower variable costs, due to factors such as lower minimum wages or taxation Fact: date=January 2009. Usually merchandise is imported by a general merchandise importer/wholesaler, then sold to the stores at a wholesale rate.

Although some people may link variety stores with low-income areas, this comparison is not always necessarily true. For example, Atherton, California has a variety store within its city limits, even though it has a median household income of over $200,000 a year.