SNAP changes adding more pressure to discount retailers $WMT $GD
Dollar General’s earnings miss was largely focused on falling grocery prices; however, it is beneath the headlines that details on the issue of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) — otherwise known as Food Stamps — reveals how the regulatory component of our thematic investing approach can impact our strategies.
Discount retailers have also been hit by changes in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly called the food stamp program. By the end of 2016, as many as 22 states would have changed the criteria for SNAP – a move that is likely to result in about 1 million Americans losing benefits.States implementing SNAP changes this year include Florida, Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee, which have some of the highest concentration of Dollar General stores.
Source: Lower grocery prices, food stamp cuts hit Dollar General results | Reuters