Myrtle Beach has tons of beach stores. See which ones are the cheapest
You don’t have to be in Myrtle Beach long to notice just how prevalent beachwear souvenir stores are around the city.
Chock-full of souvenir apparel, shot glasses and mugs, beach essentials and endless random knickknacks, the shops are spread throughout the city today, but that wasn’t always the case.
Gay Dolphin Gift Cove, a family-owned beach store that’s a fixture downtown, first opened its doors in 1946. In those days, there were few beachwear shops in the city, said owner Justin “Buz” Plyler.
“For a good number of years … there were only three beach stores in Myrtle Beach,” Plyler said. “It’s become a much larger phenomena.”
Today, the Myrtle Beach director of financial services estimates there are 56 beachwear stores in city limits alone. And with so many stores in the city, it can be difficult to compete.
“For many of the beachwear stores, their business is difficult. You have to keep a great many sizes in stock for t-shirts and sandals, people want different styles, you have different kinds of people, and you have to have a large variety of things,” Plyler said. “And it takes quite a long time to learn all the niches that are available to your market.”
While beach vacation items like umbrellas, toys and towels are consistently popular, it’s a challenge to compete with other businesses and the internet, Plyler said. To keep up with the competition, Gay Dolphin Gift Cove stocks more unique products.
“I took a harder route … I have a few of the beach store items, but primarily our story is shell, decor and gifts, and it is unique,” Plyler said. “Certainly not everybody chooses to do this. Partly because it is difficult.”
Beyond people picking up necessities for a beach day, the ever-evolving trend cycle helps drive traffic, he said.
Back in the 1950s and 60s, Gay Dolphin Gift Cove lured shoppers with spectacles, including live animals like monkeys, a gorilla, an alligator and even a 17.5-foot boa constrictor. Today, he says, people are on the hunt for the latest trend, like the viral Dubai chocolate.
“It’s a very diverse market, and where we used to have maybe five principal markets, we may have 200 principal markets,” Plyler said. “You’ve got to identify that market, find the items that are cool in each month and satisfy it; Find the items cheap enough that you can sell them and make them attractive to these people.”
Each store varies — some more than others — but with so many options to choose from, how similar are their prices?
We looked at similar products for three of the most popular beach essentials at 15 stores throughout the city of Myrtle Beach to find out. Many of the biggest beachwear stores in the city are chains, so we limited those stores to one location.
We compared 6-foot beach umbrellas, 30-inch by 60-inch printed towels and souvenir “Myrtle Beach” t-shirts. Many stores had products with varying prices, so we chose products on the low-end of the price spectrum.
Because most of the products weren’t identical in design, style or manufacturer, the quality of the items we compared could also vary with the prices.
“It is a fight over, always over, the quality versus price, and sometimes some items sell better on the basis of price, sometimes items sell better on the basis of quality,” Plyler said.
The 15 stores include:
Eagles Beachwear at 6703 N. Kings Highway
Breeza Beachwear at 7600 N. Kings Highway
Bargain Beachwear at 6807 N. Kings Highway
Five Dollar Emporium at 2606 N. Kings Highway
5.99 Outfitters at 1717 N. Kings Highway
Mega Tsunami Surf Co. at 1600 N. Kings Highway
The Gay Dolphin Gift Cove at 916 N. Ocean Blvd.
Beach Bums at 1301 N. Ocean Blvd.
USA Resortwear at 1301 S. Kings Highway
Discount Beachwear at 1390 S. Kings Highway
Beach Life Resortwear at 2290 S. Kings Highway
I Heart MB Resort Clothes at 2307 S. Kings Highway
Whales Inc. at 1911 S. Kings Highway
Five Star Beachwear at 1605 S. Kings Highway
Pacific Beachwear at 2300 N. Kings Highway
With a pre-tax total of $21.97, we found that 5.99 Outfitters came out the most affordable. The most expensive option we found was USA Resortwear, with a total of $51.97.
The average price for a 6-foot beach umbrella at the stores we visited was about $14.19. The least expensive umbrella we found was $9.99 and the most expensive was $24.99.
On average, a 30-inch by 60-inch printed towel will run you slightly more at $15.59. Prices we found ranged from $5.99 to $24.99.
Souvenir t-shirts were the least expensive item in the bunch, with an average price of roughly $10.92. Nearly half of the stores we checked had souvenir shirts for $9.99, but prices started at $5.99 and went up to $19.99.
Check out the full breakdown here:
Eagles Beachwear
Umbrella: $12
Towel: $11.99
T-shirt: $11.99
Breeza Beachwear
Umbrella: $15
Towel: $20
T-shirt: $13
Bargain Beachwear
Umbrella: $12
Towel: $11.99
T-shirt: $11.99
Five Dollar Emporium
Umbrella: $11.99
Towel: $14.99
T-shirt: $5.99
Total: $32.97
5.99 Outfitters
Umbrella: $9.99
Towel: $5.99
T-shirt: $5.99
Total: $21.97
Mega Tsunami Surf Co.
Umbrella: $14.99
Towel: $14.99
T-shirt: $11.99
Total: $41.97
The Gay Dolphin Gift Cove
Umbrella: $19.98
Towel: $14.98
T-shirt: $12.98
Total: $47.94
Beach Bums
Umbrella: $14.99
Towel: $19.99
T-shirt: $9.99
Total: $44.97
USA Resortwear
Umbrella: $24.99
Towel: $16.99
T-shirt: $9.99
Total: $51.97
Discount Beachwear
Umbrella: $11.99
Towel: $14.99
T-shirt: $9.99
Total: $36.97
Beach Life Resortwear
Umbrella: $11.99
Towel: $14.99
T-shirt: $9.99
Total: $36.97
I Heart MB Resort Clothes
Umbrella: $11.99
Towel: $14.99
T-shirt: $9.99
Total: $36.97
Whales Inc.
Umbrella: $14.99
Towel: $24.99
T-shirt: $9.99
Total: $49.97
Five Star Beachwear
Umbrella: $12.99
Towel: $16.99
T-shirt: $9.99
Total: $39.97
Pacific Beachwear
Umbrella: $12.99
Towel: $14.99
T-shirt: $19.99
Total: $47.97
This story was originally published May 6, 2025 at 6:00 AM.