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- Dollar General has gained ground among shoppers as a destination for fill-in grocery trips.The chain has grown its share of grocery trips that last under 10 minutes, Placer.ai found.It points to another niche that dollar stores are filling in the US retail landscape.
For some shoppers, Dollar General is becoming like a local corner store.
Data from Placer.ai released this month shows that Dollar General has become a destination for shoppers looking to pick up a snack, a gallon of milk, or other quick groceries. Many customers are shopping at the chain in addition to more traditional supermarkets.
Dollar General stores were the destination of 28% of quick visits, or shopping trips that last less than 10 minutes, during the second quarter of 2025, according to Placer.ai's data. That's up from 24% during the same quarter in 2019.
"Consumers are visiting Dollar General, and probably all dollar stores, for that matter, as a sort of fill-in opportunity," Elizabeth Lafontaine, the director of research at Placer.ai, told Business Insider.
Traditional grocery stores still received about 61% of those quick trips in the second quarter of 2025, Placer.ai found. But the data shows that Dollar General has carved out another niche for itself, Lafontaine said.
Dollar stores, particularly those operated by Dollar General and Dollar Tree, have opened thousands of new locations in the US over the past several years.
The chains have gained a reputation for setting up shop in small rural communities where Walmart and other retailers can't make a store work. In those areas, shoppers might spend most of their weekly grocery budgets at dollar stores.
Placer.ai's data, though, shows how dollar stores function in more densely populated areas, where shoppers tend to have many shopping choices. In those areas, many consumers aren't spending most of their budget at Dollar General, but they are turning to the chain for those quick trips, Lafontaine said.
Between 2022 and 2025, for example, more Aldi shoppers also began shopping at Dollar General, according to Placer.ai data. At the same time, more Dollar General shoppers turned to Aldi.
That means that shoppers, especially those who are looking for good deals, are "likely to visit both of those retailers and not necessarily exchange one trip for another because they see them as probably complementary visits to one another," she said.
Dollar General has also bolstered its quick delivery options through partnerships with DoorDash and Uber Eats. Three-quarters of delivery orders at the chain are filled within an hour, and many contain grocery items, CEO Todd Vasos said on an earnings call in August.
Do you work at Dollar General or another dollar store and have a story to share? Reach out to this reporter at abitter@businessinsider.com
