Assistant Store Manager

Dollar General and Dollar Tree reported strong second-quarter results as economic pressures drive shoppers to discount retailers. Dollar General's net sales rose 5.2% year-over-year to $11.3 billion, with same-store sales up 3.5%. Dollar Tree saw total sales grow 7% to $4.9 billion, with same-store sales increasing 3.7%. Consumer sentiment has fallen 6% from last month and 11% from a year ago, according to the University of Michigan. Lower- and middle-income consumers showed the steepest declines. Both chains are attracting value-seeking shoppers, with Dollar General drawing more middle- and higher-income customers. Dollar General CEO Todd Vasos noted this marks the fifth consecutive quarter of customer traffic growth, with the chain positioned within 5 miles of 75% of the US population.

Dollar General builds on Feeding America partnership. The retailer highlights local hunger-relief efforts after contributing more than $6 million and helping provide the equivalent of 95 million meals since 2019. September 1, 2026. 10:19 AM GOODLETTSVILLE, Tenn. - Dollar General is using Hunger Action Month to spotlight its expanding partnership with Feeding America and the local food banks and hunger-relief organizations that are working to address food insecurity in communities across the country. With nearly 48 million Americans facing food insecurity, the retailer said its network of more than 21,000 stores and 34 distribution centers gives it an unusual ability to support hunger-relief efforts at the local level. Dollar General stores and distribution centers provide food donations to Feeding America partners, while the company also provides financial support and employee volunteer assistance. Since 2019, Dollar General has contributed more than $6 million in financial support to Feeding America and its local food banks, which serve more than half of U.S. counties. Food donated through the retailer's stores and distribution centers during that period has helped provide the equivalent of more than 95 million meals. In July, Dollar General marked another year of the partnership with a $1 million donation to Feeding America to support hunger-relief efforts nationwide. During Hunger Action Month in September, the retailer is highlighting several examples of how the partnership operates at the community level. In Bennington, Vt., a Dollar General store provides food donations, including fresh dairy products, to Meals on Wheels of Bennington County. The organization delivers meals to people aged 60 and older, as well as to adults with disabilities under age 60. "Dollar General's partnership with Meals on Wheels of Bennington County has made a meaningful difference in our ability to serve older adults throughout our community," said Ilsa Svoboda, executive director of the organization. "Our volunteers regularly pick up donated food that helps us provide nutritious meals while stretching our resources even further." Svoboda added that the partnership extends beyond providing food by demonstrating to older residents that their community continues to support them. Meals on Wheels of Bennington County works with Vermont Food Bank, a Feeding America affiliate. Through the first part of 2026, Vermont Food Bank received more than 33,500 pounds of food from Dollar General stores. Dollar General is making a similar contribution in northeast Ohio, where its Zanesville distribution center and area stores provide shelf-stable groceries, fresh produce and other food to the Greater Cleveland Food Bank. One in six people in the food bank's service territory currently faces food insecurity. "It takes all of us to fight hunger," said Karen Pozna, director of communication and events at the Greater Cleveland Food Bank. "The Greater Cleveland Food Bank is incredibly grateful for partners like Dollar General whose generous donations help provide nutritious food to neighbors facing hunger across our community." The Greater Cleveland Food Bank served more than 404,000 people during fiscal 2025 across Cuyahoga, Ashtabula, Geauga, Lake, Ashland and Richland counties, making it northeast Ohio's largest hunger-relief organization. Dollar General employees are also contributing through volunteer work. In July, operations leaders supporting the retailer's eastern Wisconsin stores volunteered with Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin, helping repack 7,000 pounds of food for distribution to people across 35 counties. "When we come together to live out our mission of Serving Others, even a few hours of work can create a big impact," said Morgan Thompson, Dollar General's retail regional director of operations. "It was a rewarding opportunity to give back and make a difference in the communities Dollar General serves every day." Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin supports nearly 600 hunger-relief partners and community-based programs serving metropolitan, suburban and rural communities. From January through July, Feeding America food banks across Wisconsin received nearly 470,000 pounds of donated food from Dollar General stores and the company's Janesville distribution center. Dollar General's hunger-relief efforts are part of a broader strategy to increase access to affordable food in the communities it serves. The company now sells fresh produce in more than 7,000 stores, which it says gives it more individual distribution points for produce than any other U.S. mass retailer or grocer. The retailer also serves as a USDA National Strategic Partner through the Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion's Nutrition Communicators Network. Through that relationship, Dollar General provides "Better For You" food options, educational resources and health and wellness products and services. The company's extensive store footprint - particularly in rural and other communities where food access can be limited - also gives Dollar General an important role in the broader effort to address hunger. By combining that reach with Feeding America's national network, the retailer is seeking to translate a large-scale partnership into assistance delivered community by community.

Retailers bet on AI for supply chain, 'smart' shopping. Large retailers are using AI to overhaul the customer experience, enhance supply chain operations and tailor customer offerings, according to Q2 earnings calls. Published Aug. 31, 2026 In the second half of 2026, retailers plan to accelerate their AI strategies to improve efficiency in their supply chain, customer experience, discoverability and internal operations. Executives from Gap, Dollar General, Ulta Beauty and Kohl's highlighted how they're using AI technologies, including chatbots, predictive models and agentic AI systems in their earnings calls last week. C-suite leaders described the evolving capabilities as short-term investments and long-term strategies for their customer-facing offerings as well as internal workflows. "We're in the early stages of applying AI across key corporate uses to enhance how we work, improve productivity and drive greater efficiency," Ulta President and CEO Kecia Steelman said during the company's Aug. 27 Q2 earnings call. "As these capabilities mature, we see opportunities to scale AI thoughtfully across the organization and deliver incremental value over time." Ulta named former Domino's executive Kelly Garcia as its new CTO in July. He will continue to advance the beauty retailer's technology capabilities and its tech-driven Ulta Beauty Unleashed strategy. The company has been modernizing its core technology systems and scaling AI use in the last few years, two key priorities for several other businesses in the sector. Retailers are turning to AI as they scramble to win over consumers, who have become choosy about how they spend their money as gas and grocery prices go up. The pressure to use AI is steep, said Aaron Cheris, partner and global head of Bain & Co.'s retail practice. "Everybody and their sister has to have an answer to the question of 'what are you doing with AI' for their board, for their investors," he told CIO Dive. AI deployment in retail. As AI is deployed throughout the retail industry, employees and customers are facing the technology more regularly in the shopping experience. Few companies seek out a big AI transformation, desiring to be an "AI-first company," Cheris said. Instead, most fit into the category of overhauling some aspect of the business with AI, such as the customer experience. Tools like Home Depot's generative AI shopping tool Magic Apron or Walmart's commerce agent Sparky stand out as examples of this approach, Cheris said. Other companies seek out AI to simplify their operations or lower costs, often through supply chain management and routing optimization efforts. And others put their investment toward foundational data work to make business operations run more smoothly, Cheris said. Gap and Ulta are pursuing AI projects related to supply chain, according to their earnings calls. Gap's capital expenditure is expected to reach $650 million this year, for new stores and remodels, technology and its supply chain investments. Steelman said during Ulta's call Thursday that it is leveraging prior investments in technology, automation and network optimization to improve speed to guests. The beauty retailer is also using AI-powered sourcing capabilities to optimize omnichannel inventory to meet customer demand more efficiently. The company is also turning to AI for search and discovery, using content creation and enriched product information across AI platforms like ChatGPT, Steelman said, and promoting the company's on-site shopping agent, Ulta AI. Kohl's CEO Michael Bender said during the company's Aug. 26 earnings call for the second quarter of the company's 2027 fiscal year that he is encouraged by early signs of the store's AI shopping assistant, which is resulting in stronger conversion and higher revenue per visit. "We see significant opportunities to expand AI-assisted discovery, gifting and purchase confidence over time," Bender said. While it's early in the company's AI journey, Dollar General CEO Todd Vasos said during the company's Aug. 27 earnings call for the second quarter of its 2027 fiscal year that they're building agentic operating systems for enterprisewide workflows to improve productivity. Dollar General's net sales jumped 5.2% year over year to $11.3 billion during the quarter. Consumers will see AI investments in the form of more customer service chatbots and more AI-powered shopping assistants, Cheris said.