Every year, dollar stores see higher and higher earnings, but how can a store that seems like it's giving things away turn itself into a multi-billion-dollar enterprise? The answer is simple: that dollar isn't always the great deal it appears to be. Here are their secrets.

Whether times are good or bad, you can still count on people to flock to dollar stores because they have the one thing everyone loves: convenience. Sales for Dollar General are always on the upswing, with the chain seeing an increase of 3.7 percent between 2017 and 2018, regardless of the state of the economy. Take it from Dollar General CEO Todd Vasos, who had this to say about their regular customers:

"We have seen no sign of trade out or trade up from our core customers. Even in a good economy, [they are] still looking for value and convenience."