Image Courtesy of Dollar General
With the treasure hunt experience proving to be a big traffic and conversion driver in recent years for Costco, off-pricers like TJ Maxx, as well as thrift shops, Dollar General wants to give it a try.
Dollar General said last week it’s rolling out a completely redesigned store format in 2026, one featuring more open layouts and enhanced browsing.
“We have reimagined our traditional store format by creating a new layout in response to what customers have told us they want from their shopping trip,” said Todd Vasos, CEO, on the retailer’s fourth-quarter analyst call. “This new format is designed to be more open and inviting, resulting in greater browsing and treasure hunt shopping as customers are exposed to more categories as they navigate the store.”
The format was in a portion of 2025 remodel projects -- and delivered an incremental sales lift and relative sales outperformance compared to traditional remodels. Vasos stated, “Ultimately, we believe this format will help drive both increased transactions and ticket as the store provides for an even fuller fill-in trip.”
The new store model is part of a broader push to gain additional marketing share with new and existing customers, one that also includes a goal to increase non-consumable penetration to up to 20% by 2029.
Dollar General Seeks To Launch New Treasure Hunt Experiences on Back of Solid Recent Financials
Dollar General delivered a 4.3% same-store gain in the fourth quarter, with non-consumables outpacing “solid” consumables for the fourth straight quarter partly based on a boost from new brands, including Dolly Parton and Kathy Ireland. To support non-consumable growth in 2026, Dollar General will launch at least 15 new non-consumable brands, reinforce closeout buying, implement a loyalty program pilot for some non-consumable categories, and integrate shoppable social marketing to accelerate sales in discretionary categories.
Dollar stores have traditionally been known for offering a convenient “in and out” experience supported by their smaller footprints located near customers and smaller parking lots.
Retail foot traffic tracker Placer.ai found last year that Dollar General’s growth has been “fueled largely by its dominance in short visits -- ‘in-and-out’ trips lasting less than ten minutes for essentials like milk, bread, eggs, or snacks.” In the second quarter of 2025, Dollar General accounted for 28% of all under-ten minute visits, up from 24.1% in the second quarter of 2019, as it’s taken visits from traditional grocers.
Regardless, the treasure hunt element has been a winning formula for warehouse clubs and off-pricers. Amid high food inflation, a Wall Street Journal article from 2024 also heralded the rise in “treasure-hunt grocery shopping” as consumers are increasingly visiting more stores to find grocery bargains. AlixPartners' global co-leader of AI & Data Practice Group Angela Zutavern told NBC’s TODAY Show in 2024, “Retailers get that consumers want choices, so they’re looking very carefully at what products they put on promotion.”