Dollar General Ceo Warns Consures ‘Only have enough money for basic essentials’

Dollar general CEO Todd vasos said on Thursday that inflation continues to hurt the discounter’s customers and that the macroeconomic environment Won …t improvement this year.

On the company’s fourth -Quarter Earnings Call, vasos said customers are expecting value and convenience “more than ever” from the dollar-store chain.

“Our customers controlue to report Money for Basic Essentials, with some noting that they have had to save even on the Necessories, “Vasos said. “As we enter 2025, we are not anticipating improvement in the macro environment, particularly for our core customer.”

Dollar General’s Core Consumer is “Always Strained” Due to their Economic Status, but also also resultsful, vasos said.

“We’ve Started to see where (our customer is) gotting her sea legs, if you will, on the additional inflation that that’s been very sticky out there, and she’s start to Undrstand Her Budgets even more.

Part of the uncertainty, vasos said, stems from the potential impact of President Donald Trump’s tarifs on the consumer.

When Trump imposed tariffs during his first term in office in 2018 and 2019, dollar general had to raise some prices in line with others in the industry, vasos said. But the general store was able to mitigate the impact back and is “well positioned” to do so against this year, he said.

“Given the alredy stressed Financial Condition of our core customer, we are closely monitoring these and any other potential economic headwinds, including any changes to Government Entitlement PRENTLEMENT PRONETLEMENT PROTELEMENT PROTENMENMENT PRINANGES, Including

Cfo kelly dilts said the company’s 2025 Guidance Factors in Continued Economic Pressure on the consumer, but does not account for further changes to tariff policy or government initiatives Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which subsidizes food for low-income Americans.

For the fourth -Quarter, Dollar General Said Same-Sports Growth of 1.2% was driven entryly by 2.3% growth in average transaction. Customer Traffic Fell 1.1% during the period, “impacted by ongoing financial pressures of our core consumer,” Vasos said.

AlongSide Its Fourth-Quarter Earnings, Dollar General Said ChiursDay It Would Close 96 Dollar General Stores and 45 PopShelf Stores and Will Convert Six Other Popshelf Stores Into Flagship Banner Locations this year. Popshelf Primarily Serves highher-insual shoppers With lower-priced products.

Shares of Dollar General Rose 5% Chiursday Morning.