Major Changes Coming To All Iowa Dollar General Stores

When I lived in Illinois, the Dollar General stores were all different.  The older of the stores in Spring Valley was a little unsettling.

I walk through stores with a firefighter and manager mindset.  I look for exits, and I see if those exits are blocked.  I see how the aisles and displays are laid out, if they are cluttered, and if you could make your way through the aisles if there is an emergency. I'm all kinds of fun when it comes to retail.

This location was one I only visited once.  At that time, it would not fare well if there was a fire.  The aisles were cluttered, the shelves were stuffed, and the general feeling was of disarray.  I'd also think that you'd have a problem with shrinkage, which is another name for shoplifting, as well a problem George Costanza had on Seinfeld.

What's Going On At Dollar General in Iowa?

Dollar General is shaking things up a bit and working to make its stores across Iowa—and the whole U.S.—a little less chaotic. They're cutting down on the clutter by reducing excess inventory and slashing prices to move products out the door faster. So, next time you walk into one, you might notice fewer piles of stuff, more room to breathe, and a cleaner, safer environment. It’s like giving the store a mini-makeover!

Shoplifting is a Big Business

Remember earlier I was talking about shrinkage?  Well, look what we have here.  Apparently, the products have been either walking out the door on their own, or there is a bit of shoplifting.  So, Dollar General is dialing back on self-checkout lanes. They’ve already yanked them out of about 12,000 stores, leaving only 8,000 with them. And, in the stores that keep self-checkouts, some registers are getting a makeover too—they’ll be converted into assisted checkout, where employees actually help scan and bag your items. Oh, and if you’ve got more than five items in your cart? Sorry, you’ll need to head to a regular lane.

Recently the Iowa retailer Hy-Vee decided to remove self-checkout at some stores.

Dollar General is hoping that, by reducing the number of self-checkouts, they’ll cut down on those losses and make the whole shopping experience a little smoother.

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More To Come at Iowa Dollar General

But wait, there’s more! To make sure things run more smoothly and to keep everything organized, Dollar General is also hiring more employees to keep an eye on the front end of the store, assist customers, and watch over transactions. Plus, they’re setting up "smart teams" of employees who’ll travel between stores to tackle the inventory chaos and keep things organized.

In the short run, it might be a little less convenient—fewer self-checkout stations and more human interaction at the checkout—but in the long run, Dollar General thinks these changes will help make stores safer, more organized, and ultimately a better place to shop. It’s a bit like a spring cleaning for the whole company—just with more employees, fewer self-checkouts, and a lot less mess!