CHESAPEAKE, Va. — Dollar Tree said same-store sales jumped 7% in its fiscal 2020 first quarter as shoppers stockpiled food and other essentials at the outset of the coronavirus pandemic.

Comparable-store sales for the Family Dollar segment increased 15.5% from a year earlier, while comps at the Dollar Tree segment declined 0.9%, the company said on May 28.

Consolidated net sales rose 8.2% to $6.3 billion in the 13 weeks to May 2. The company said gross profit increased 3.9% to $1.79 billion.

“I am extremely proud of the team’s extraordinary efforts to serve customers through what has been an incredibly tumultuous time,” chief executive officer Gary Philbin said. “After a relatively normal first month in the quarter, our stores experienced an unprecedented spike in demand for certain products in March. The teams quickly rose to the challenge to make our stores safer for associates and customers by following CDC guidelines, along with enhanced cleaning protocols. We were focused and dedicated to delivering essentials to customers when they needed us most.”

Softer Easter holiday sales impacted the quarterly performance, said Mike Witynski, enterprise president. “The most negatively impacted categories — party, candy and Easter — affected Dollar Tree’s overall comp for the quarter by approximately 490 basis points,” he said.

The first-quarter same-store results represented a reversal from the previous quarter, when comps in the Dollar Tree segment increased 1.4% and Family Dollar comps declined 0.8%, ending a run of four consecutive quarters of comparable-store gains at the unit, which Dollar Tree acquired in 2015.

The company in the first quarter opened 99 new stores, expanded or relocated 21 stores, closed 14 stores and renovated 220 stores to the Family Dollar H2 format, which features new merchandise offerings, including an assortment of $1 merchandise like that offered in Dollar Tree stores.

The company withdrew its fiscal 2020 guidance, citing uncertainties around the pandemic.

Dollar Tree noted its commitment to keep each of its more than 15,300 Dollar Tree and Family Dollar stores open during the pandemic. Store teams are working to provide a clean and safe environment for associates and customers, the company said.