The healthcare industry is worth north of $8 trillion dollars and it makes great sense for Dollar General to expand into this space. With over 17,000 locations their market coverage, especially in rural/under-served markets make this a very compelling strategy. There are many potential services that Dollar General could offer, and no doubt they can learn from some of the early experiments that Walmart (and others) have conducted. The biggest hurdle will be the same hurdle that rural communities face today — attracting physicians to small towns. That said, changing views on lifestyles from the pandemic and the financial capabilities of Dollar General could make this more attractive than it once was. Overall, I love this strategy.

Dollar General has a reach into rural America that is unlike that of any other retailer – even Walmart. Indeed, its convenience is an often overlooked reason that, beyond price, allows it to do so well. Placing more emphasis on healthcare products will serve it well and will deepen the share of revenue it can attain from customers. I am curious as to what healthcare services will be offered. The staffing structure and size of most Dollar General stores, plus the positioning of the retailer, don’t lend themselves to a service based proposition in healthcare.

With 75 percent of the U.S. population within 5 miles of a Dollar General, its reach makes it convenient for many consumers. Increasing the assortment of health and wellness products such as cold remedies, dental, feminine hygiene and nutritional items should be easy to execute for Dollar General and will make their stores a convenient and valuable option for these products. However expanding into health services will be more difficult. Bringing health products and services closer to more people is a great strategy.

COVID-19 taught many businesses many things. In this case, it may have made the dollar stores aware that, by their location in rural areas, they have an opportunity to not only serve their communities better by providing a modicum of health products and services, but to increase revenues in the process. Worth testing the concept.

I’d love to see the research that says that this is a market opportunity for Dollar General, since there’s a Walgreens or CVS in practically every town in America. Personally I’d rather buy name-brand medications than a $1 version produced for Dollar General.

Not without its share of challenges (e.g., staffing, store size, merchandising standards), Dollar General has several distinct advantages (location, reach, size, logistics, and foot traffic).

Could they become a healthcare resource in rural America? Yes!

Do they need to create carefully-curated assortments? Yes!

Will they need to enter partnerships to make this successful? Absolutely!

This seems like a natural extension of other initiatives Dollar General has, such as expanding its fresh produce offering to more of its stores. An expansion of healthcare products being sold could resonate with its shoppers, and offers opportunity for branded and private-label items. An extension beyond that into services might be much more complicated and seems less realistic, both from a space perspective (part of the chain’s success is its smaller store size) as well as staffing.

Yes, yes, yes. But they are DOLLAR GENERAL! At this point in time, you’d have to be pretty desperate to go to a DG for medical care. Curate the product assortment – there’s a good idea, especially if you are the only store in town. But medical services? Not sure this flies, even though the areas could be underserved. Are they so underserved that this makes sense?

Pervasive rural reach will help Dollar General make healthcare affordable and accessible to all Americans. Consumers will appreciate Dollar General’s expansion into convenient, local healthcare options.

Adding economical healthcare clinics and health and dental insurance could keep Dollar General competitive against rival dollar chains and Walmart.

I wonder if they will limit their scope to humans or extend it to pets.

Dollar General focuses on underserved rural America. The chain has pursued growth opportunities by adding more categories their customers value into existing stores. Earlier this year, the company announced a store modernization strategy and began rolling out a fresh grocery program.

The move into affordable healthcare products and services reinforces their intent to become a one-stop shop. Dollar General is addressing the negative impact of the ongoing rural pharmacy deserts. With more than 17,000 stores, Dollar General has a lot of goodwill in rural areas, which will only increase with this latest strategy.

Similar to the other views in this discussion, I agree that this is a really smart consideration by Dollar General. They are a trusted brand with locations that few can match. Whether they have physical staff in stores or engage in some type of telemedicine via their app or through other means and pair it with local fulfillment, I am excited to see how this pans out. Like anything worthwhile there will be hurdles. Building equity and trust in this area, figuring our how rural areas engage with healthcare, staffing for these locations, likely low digital engagement among the general cohort. However they are able to test and learn so efficiently and, with an experienced leader at the top, it could turn into something remarkable. I had to laugh (in agreement) when reading Venky’s comment as I’ve often wondered when they’d get into pet more aggressively. I think there is a huge opportunity for them to service pet needs via pet health care/mini vet clinics. Kudos to DG for their continued thoughtful and disciplined approach… Read more »

Never underestimate Dollar General. The king of dollar stores has methodically spread its wings over the years even as it has flown under the radar. Dollar General continues to kill with convenience by running contrary to industry norms (tens of thousands of brick-and-mortar locations). It’s only logical that Dollar General would leverage its locations to bring healthcare products and services to its otherwise underserved customers. I’ll say it again, business model diversification is the growth driver of retail’s future. Health and wellness is emerging as a top vehicle.