Dollar variety stores are a throwback to the old five-and-10 cent stores, often called the five and dime.

The popular venues for bargains have become a $56 billion industry and growing, according to financial records.Research by Colliers International, a global commercial real estate company, indicates there are more dollar stores in America than drug stores.The proliferation of dollar stores can be attributed, in part, to the failure of other commercial outlets.When other stores close at shopping centers, dollar stores often step in to replace them, succeeding as a penny-pinching source for impulse purchases.In some ways, there might just be too many dollar stores.For instance, earlier this month, Dollar Tree Inc. announced plans to slim its network in order to satisfy competition regulators who were scrutinizing Dollar Tree's proposed takeover of Family Dollar Stores.Dollar Tree has 5,282 stores in the United States and Canada but was expected to close some locations before signing an agreement with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.Interestingly, Family Dollar Stores Inc. agreed late last year to be bought out by Dollar Tree for $8.5 billion in cash and stock. They already had turned down a $9.1 billion offer from Dollar General Corp.While shareholders analyze corporate manuveuring involving billions of dollars, the average customer walks into a dollar-type store in search of a bargain for a buck.But that dollar represents the result of a century of inflation.According to the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics using the Historical Consumer Price Index, a customer in 1913 who purchased an item for a nickel would need to spend at least $1.08 today for the same item, adjusted for inflation.Family Dollar Stores Inc. is based in North Carolina and has 8,100 locations, and is the second largest retailer of its type in the country.Dollar General operates 10,000 stores from headquarters in Goodlettsville, Tennessee, and has a Tamaqua location at 1213 East Broad St. in the former Jamesway Shopping Center.Dollar Tree, with a location at HT Commons Shopping Center, Hometown, is a non-franchise operation that is part of a Chesapeake, Virginia-based network. It has 4,900 stores in the U.S. and Canada.