Dollar General grows rapidly alongside inflation

(NewsNation) — With inflation driving prices up both in-story and online, a no-frills chain famous for having a wide variety of products at low prices is thriving.

Dollar General is currently opening more brick-and-mortar locations than any other store. The chain opened 1,000 locations last year, and is on track to open more than 1,100 this year, a pace of roughly three per day. As of February of this year, there are more than 18,000 Dollar General stores, putting 75% of Americans within 5 miles of a store.

The chain is now the U.S.’s biggest retailer by store count, popping up often in areas where larger retailers won’t go. In many areas termed as “food deserts,” stores like Dollar General are the only place to go for groceries. Many customers do all their shopping there, with the stores offering prices they say are 20% lower than grocery stores and 44% cheaper than drugstores.

Three-quarters of all Dollar General locations are in communities of fewer than 20,000 people, which usually aren’t big enough to attract the attention of larger retailers. The company says it uses an algorithm to find new, often-overlooked sites using several dozen data points like population, traffic patterns and proximity to gathering places like schools and churches.

All this growth has driven profits, as well. Its stock price has nearly tripled during the last five years, and sales have risen every year since its 2009 IPO, with revenue growing six-fold to $34 billion.

The number of people using the stores is rising as inflation hovers at a level not seen in decades. In response to demand, Dollar General is adding more coolers to its stores and offering produce at more than 2,100 locations.