Dollar General CEO Todd Vasos told investors at a Goldman Sachs retail conference on Sept. 15 that years of sustained inflation have pushed even middle- and upper-middle-income households to shop more like the chain’s lower-income core customers, according to Cox Media Group’s WDBO.
On the company’s Aug. 27 earnings call, Vasos said customers earning $100,000 or more who once shopped only occasionally are now coming in more regularly, ConsumerAffairs reported. Meanwhile, lower-income shoppers are visiting more often and spending less on each trip.
The pressure behind that shift is not hard to find. Consumer prices rose 3.7% in the 12 months ending in September, and gasoline jumped 34.2%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
As of late October, a gallon of regular averaged more than $4 nationwide, over $1 more than a year earlier, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reports.
Dollar General had 21,148 stores as of July 31, so for a lot of shoppers, one is just down the road. Close is not the same as cheap, though. A store built around low price points can still charge more for what you actually carry home.
1. Read the shelf tag twice
The number that matters is the unit price: the cost per ounce, per count or per sheet. A low sticker can come from a smaller package rather than a lower price, and the difference does not show up until you do the math.
Unit pricing is not required by federal law. According to the National Institute of Standards and Technology, state and local governments set weights and measures rules, so some shelf tags show a unit price and some do not. When a tag leaves it off, divide the price by the size printed on the package. Your phone’s calculator handles it in seconds.
Some items rarely pay off, no matter where you shop, and knowing the worst things to buy at a dollar store keeps them out of your basket.
2. Count the trips, not just the receipts
Vasos described core customers who come in more often and spend less each time. Smaller, more frequent trips can help when cash is tight, but each one means more driving with gas above $4 a gallon. Gas prices have climbed far faster than overall inflation over the past year, so those extra miles add up quickly.
Grouping errands into one planned run cuts the miles. So does paying less for the gas you still buy.
3. Get cash back on gas you already buy
Gas prices swing, but you are driving past cash back every week. Upside is a free app that pays you real cash — up to 25¢ a gallon — at stations you already use, including Shell, BP, and Exxon.
Claim an offer, pay with your usual card, and the cash back lands in the app. It stacks on top of your credit card rewards, and you can cash out to PayPal, your bank, or gift cards.
Two-car family? That adds up fast. Start earning on your next tank.
4. Watch the small-basket drift
Frequent short trips have a second cost: the extras. A quick stop for paper towels can end with a snack, a seasonal decoration and a phone charger in the bag. Each item is cheap on its own. Together they can erase what the trip was supposed to save.
A written list helps, and so does a set weekly amount for household basics. Both are easier to stick to inside a budget system you will keep using.
5. Compare against store brands, not just name brands
Dollar stores stock plenty of national brands in small sizes. A supermarket or warehouse store brand in a larger size is often the fairer comparison, and many store-brand groceries match the name brands for less.
Food at home rose a milder 1.8% over the 12 months ending in September, according to the BLS. The grocery aisle is not where most of the squeeze is coming from, which makes the unit price and the cost of getting to the store the better places to look for savings.
Dollar General’s growing six-figure crowd shows how far stretched budgets reach in 2026. Following them through the door can make sense. Check the unit price, plan your route, and make your list before you leave, and the savings are more likely to show up on the receipt.
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