They are the bright light beacon of savings that shines all over Louisiana. No matter what size city you live in, from Alexandria to Lake Charles, Monroe to Minden, and Shreveport to St Martinville, you can find one. The "they" we speak of is a Dollar General Store. Louisiana has 615 locations of the discount retailer and every one of those locations has either undergone a major change or is about to do so.
As large retailers go, Dollar General is certainly on the "plus" side. The company boasts some 19,146 retail locations across the United States. The company proudly states its "mission" is Serving Others. Many shoppers in Louisiana have come to know the brand for its low prices and better-than-average selection of foods, snacks, health and beauty aids, and the occasional debris-filled aisle.
The simple answer to that question is this, there is no one there to clean up the carnage left by disrespectful shoppers. That lack of employee presence in its retail locations is the reason that Dollar General has announced sweeping changes to the way they do business and the way their employees will interact with you.
Earlier this summer it was reported that the retail chain had already modified some 300 different locations with modifications planned for more than 9,000 other stores. The modifications are being made for two reasons. One, to protect the profitability of each store, and two to protect the low pricing model that many Dollar General customers have come to expect.
The most noticeable changes will be two-fold for the average Louisiana shopper. First, you will likely see more employees on the sales floor and running the checkout lines. Second, you won't be seeing any new or for that matter, any more self-checkout lines. The reason, as I see it is this. People just can't be trusted and retailers such as Dollar General, Walmart, and Target are having to adjust to our current lack of morals.
Shrink is an industry catch-all term that refers to losses within a location. That "shrink" might come in the form of theft, shoplifting, damaged products, or even online fraud. By eliminating the self-checkout Dollar General hopes to lower its loss rate of about 4%.
While 4% might not sound like a lot when you consider the figure represents 4% of $38.692 billion, yes with a "b", dollars. You can see why company leaders would like to not lose that money. If you do the math the amount of money being lost via "shrink" is larger than most lottery jackpots.
If you've not already noticed these changes at your neighborhood Dollar General, you likely will before the end of 2024. Company leaders are hopeful this expense-saving measure will allow them to continue to offer lower prices and better value to their many customers around Louisana and the rest of the nation.