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Many of those tried-and-true discount stores are making a lot of changes right now in an effort to cut costs and increase revenue Dollar Tree recently announced<\/a> an expansion of their offerings with a price increase of $5 and even $7 for some items. Walmart announced major renovations<\/a> to increase its product offerings. And now, Dollar General will be reducing the number of items you\u2019ll see on shelves.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Dollar General announced it will be eliminating 1,000 unique items on shelves from their usual product lineup, reducing their current product lineup by 8%-9%, depending on the location. The discount retailer previously carried between 11,000 to 12,000 stock keeping units (SKUs) at its stores.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n This news comes less than a year after Dollar General\u2019s announcement to expand fresh grocery items in stores<\/a> such as perishable items and produce, along with the brand\u2019s typical offering of pantry staples. During a December 2023 earnings call<\/a>, Dollar General CEO Todd Vasos announced over 5,400 stores have fresh produce offerings in stores, with a targeted 1,500 additional stores in 2024.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n However, while this news seems fresh to the public, Dollar General executives have been open about reducing SKU offerings since the end of last year. This particular move is meant to simplify things in stores for employees and customers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u201cOur merchant teams have focused on reducing activity for store teams by reducing the number of floor stands and monthly end cap resets and increasing the number of products that go straight to the shelf, all which saves time in our stores and enhances the customer experience,\u201d Vasos explained in the December call.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Although the retailer will be offering less products on shelves, this doesn\u2019t mean the fewer items will take a direct hit to the company\u2019s success. Costco is famously known for keeping its SKU count low at stores (only offering 4,000 items<\/a> at the company\u2019s warehouses) yet still brought in over $6.29 billion last year<\/a>.<\/p>\n