Most of us love shopping but definitely not the bills that go along with it. In the current scenario with the growing income inequality thousands of stores have closed in recent years, but Dollar General, operating 17,177 stores in 46 states is thriving and reshaping the rural landscape in small towns offering customers prices that are 20% to 40% off lower than other grocery and drug stores. Hear it first with up to 50% off on Dollar General weekly deals when you shop with its discount coupons which are hard to resist.
Dollar General a Popular Choice among rural Americans
While competitors have been squeezed by growing competition online, rising prices and pandemic job losses, the Dollar General store with its convenient locations for frugal shoppers is a reminder that the store targets on the patronage of lower income shoppers.
- Convenient Locations – A major advantage
During the current pandemic when many households were reluctant to travel too far, the localness of this predominantly based store in rural locations with around 75% of Americans living within a range of five minutes from the Dollar General store was a major advantage. Focusing on areas with limited competition increases the chances of success which the store accomplished over the years.
- Lower Price Tag
To get shoppers in the door, the Dollar stores have worked hard to market themselves as the cheapest deal in town with many items that cost up to $10. Catering to the needs of the financially stretched customers they can experience a high level of satisfaction when they find a good bargain, from toys, Linen and house cleaning products to packaged food like a shopper can grab doubleshot espresso for $2 or two cans of Frappuccino for $5.
Nothing can be better than the discount offers that can be accessed using the Dollar General Coupons. Alternately, all through the year non- grocery stores like Target and Walmart might offer competitive prices on food items. So, it is always recommended to check them out and add them to your shopping rotation.
- Investing in Private Label products
Although you would find some nationally known brands at the Dollar General store, it does not necessarily cover all of them. A generic version without compromising on quality is worth a consideration at least once if you are keen to trim money from your shopping bill. Taking the private route through its home brand under the Clover Valley label developing lines for items ranging from cat food to shampoos, could save you loads of money, for example instead of going in for peanuts from Planters and coffee from Folgers, the own brand could yield spectacular savings exclusively for you.
- Making Shopping easy with DG GO
A point of differentiation from its competitors that keeps the store high in popularity is the ability to combine the human touch in their physical stores with cutting-edge technology including a scan and go payment app called DG GO rolled in over 250 stores since its launch last year encouraging customers to keep a track of their expenses and optimize their shopping dollars.
Having a user-friendly site is becoming increasingly important for the customers, to help speed up check out, as they tend to spend more carefully now especially during the current pandemic era, whether it is general merchandise items or fashion accessories. Uncover a stylish collection of designer brands and fashion at a great value with the Bobbie brooks collections starting from $5 at the DG stores and Walmart’s great picks from $6.00 onwards.
- Fast selling Favorites
Each dollar General store has a limited stock of products somewhere around 10,000 to 12,000, compared to big retailers like Walmart which houses around 60,000 products. Few favorites like Snacks, toiletries and other essentials have a high product turnover with shelves getting empty quickly on a regular basis. Covid-19 outbreak also boosted the sales as shoppers prefer to buy more necessities while staying at home. Additionally, keeping a limited stock of fresh produce or perishables reduces the amount of waste and costs low.
- Low Operating Costs
Another way the store maintains its competitive advantage is the no-frills shopping experience keeping its cost low. It may not have sprawling parking lots compared to the big-box stores, but have the buying power, and focusing on easy store designs of 7,500 sq. ft to 12,000sq.ft it is easy to navigate and often with only two or three employees at the store the retailer can manage well and are able to profit on slim margins.
Customers do not mind it as long as they are saving money. Alternative in terms of cost efficiency is the store’s introduction to approximately 40 in house private label products over which it has a high degree of control in production thus cutting down on the operational costs.
- Packaged items in small quantity
With most of its customers in the low to moderate income group earning $50,000 or less per year have financial constraints to buy in bulk, so the store caters to their needs by stocking items in mini bottles or small bags, keeping costs lower than a trip to the Wal-Mart Supercenter down the road, and this low ticket value serves its core customers well. Discounts are certainly attractive to shoppers and with Items like hand sanitizers, household cleaners ,cleaning gels still on top of the consumers list, so find incredible deals with savings of up to $10 on these basic essentials which can be accessed from all the Dollar outlets. The small quantities might seem like travel size portions for some, but during the time when the economy is at an all-time low, the stores are going at what their consumers can afford at the moment.
Grounded to its roots, Dollar General is able to offer a competitive and straightforward shopping experience, with low operational costs and a loyal customer base. However, with all the other big stores like Amazon, Walmart, Costco, breezing through the challenges to give the best bargains it’s safe to assume that a can of your favorite juice, and soups from your favorite brand is going to taste the same whether you buy it at Target, Kroger or Dollar General store.
