Walmart trumps Dollar General when it comes to price

Dollar General can’t compete with the one place where there are always low prices. In fact, the discount retailer trails many grocers when it comes to savings.

According to a study by Bank of America, Walmart and Aldi have the best prices for food and other necessities. A cart of 33 items at Walmart, which went by the slogan “Always low prices” for years, rang up at $187.50, while the same cart at Target amounted to $194.15. It cost $201.14 at Dollar General, and $203.67 at Family Dollar. The study also revealed that Walmart and Aldi had the lowest grocery prices covering a range of food. Aldi was the best in every category but household and personal care goods.

The study compared current prices with the cost three years ago. In total, costs were up 22%, with Dollar General leading the way at 36%. Kroger, on the other hand, stood at 21%, which is in line with inflation. The Insider believes the jump is due to the fact of Dollar General’s greater reliance on shelf-stable items, which have been victimized more by inflation than other items like produce.

In addition to the higher prices, the study also found a problem at the cash register at Dollar General. The Bank of America research found the price at checkout was different than the one on the shelf. In February, Cleveland.com revealed the shelf vs. register difference showed up in 19% of the items at a store in Ohio.

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The news of Dollar General’s price bloating comes when the retailer is launching a beauty product line.

Branded as "Beauty Reinvention," the new layout brings simpler, easy-to-navigate beauty and personal care aisles to approximately 300 stores this fiscal year.

“We have been purposeful in our expansion, balancing new, fresh and trendy items with value,” said Amanda Wilson, senior beauty buyer at Dollar General. “Beauty Reinvention creates a beauty destination at Dollar General.”

Dollar General’s first Beauty Reinvention stores launched in February and include beauty bars to give customers a different experience with face masks, hair treatments, nail polish, lip gloss, bath bombs and more. Other format enhancements include increasing the skincare section by 50% and soap and shower offerings by 30%, an expanded and cohesive hair care and color section that includes new textured hair products, and an overall increase in square footage dedicated to the beauty category.

To reinforce the retailer’s dedication to bringing customers clean beauty, skin and hair care products that are accessible, affordable and on-trend, Dollar General also has announced three new skin and hair product lines rolling onto shelves nationwide starting in March, including Joy Works, Curl Rhythm and yes! honey. Dollar General’s Believe Beauty Skin, which debuted in 2021, has added three new products including a detoxifying clay mask, reviving eye cream and a vitamin C brightening serum. 

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In addition to the exclusive products, more than 1,000 supplementary beauty items are being added to the "Beauty Reinvention" stores in 2023.