While some chains have opted for locked shelves, Dollar General has taken a bolder approach to cutting down on shoplifting.

Essentially, the chain has made the decision that you can’t steal something if it’s not in the store.

Of course, that comes with a second clear caveat. You also can’t buy merchandise that’s not in the store.

“As we go forward, the team is looking at continued SKU rationalization, albeit probably more surgical in nature as we move forward. We’re already implementing some tests and learns even in the back half of this year around lower-volume store-type planograms, taking a substantial amount of SKUs out of the mix where it may not be as productive,” CEO Todd Vasos said during the chain’s second-quarter earnings call.

Removing lower-volume items to focus on faster-selling products makes sense, but that’s not the only reason Dollar General is removing items from its shelves.

“And also, again, in some high-shrink locations where shrink is still a bit of a headwind in some of these stores, and looking at SKU rationalization a little bit differently there,” he added.

Dollar General has fought a shrink problem

Shrink has been a Dollar General problem for years.

Vasos addressed it during the company’s fourth-quarter 2023 earnings call and shared some clear steps the company was taking to address the problem.

“Our second course of action will apply to all remaining stores with self-checkout, where we have begun limiting self-checkout to transactions consisting of five items or less. And finally, over the first half of the year, we plan to completely remove self-checkout from more than 300 of our highest shrink stores,” he said.

He framed the change as a positive.

“Collectively, we believe these steps are in line with where the customer wants us to be, which includes increasing personal engagement with them at the store. Additionally, we believe these actions have the potential to have a material and positive impact on shrink as we move into the back half of the year and into 2025,” he added.

Dollar General has removed self-checkout from thousands of stores.

Shutterstock

Dollar General made aggressive shrink changes

One quarter later, Vasos addressed shrink again.

“Shrink continues to be the most significant headwind in our business, and we are deploying an end-to-end approach to shrink reduction across the organization, including efforts in our supply chain, merchandising, and within our stores,” he said during Dollar General’s Q1 2024 earnings call.

Dollar General’s shrink definition includes theft, but also damages and operational/administrative losses. The company’s own current results show that shrink and damages are being discussed separately.

“To help combat issues around shrink, our supply chain teams are primarily focused on ensuring deliveries are on time and in full and our merchants on reducing the amount of inventory we carry. Within our stores, we are focusing on delivering a more consistent front-end presence, broaden the reach of our high shrink planograms, which include the removal of high shrink SKUs and the elimination of self-checkout in the vast majority of stores,” he said.

That included a massive reduction in self-checkout.

“As we discussed on last quarter’s call, we converted approximately 9,000 stores away from self-checkout during the quarter. Following the quick and successful conversion of these stores in Q1 and given the ongoing challenge from shrink, we converted approximately 3,000 additional stores away from self-checkout in May, bringing us to approximately 12,000 conversions completed in total,” he added.

Dollar General has roughly 21,000 U.S. stores.

Shrink remains a major retail problem

While Dollar General is still making changes to fight shrink, Vasos did acknowledge that some of the chain’s efforts have worked.

“We were also pleased with the continued improvement in damages and shrink in Q2, which reflects strong in-store execution by the team,” he said during the Q2 2027 call.

Shrink, it should be noted, includes more than just shoplifting.

“Shrink (or shrinkage) is a measurement of inventory loss as a percentage of sales during a specific inventory period. It is used to forecast or account for losses in a retail balance sheet,” according to rhe National Retail Federation (NRF).

It’s a broad category that covers a number of different ways inventory disappears.

“Shrink calculations include losses stemming from theft (by employees and non-employees), administrative or operational errors, mistakes and other identified inventory loss. It is the most common form of measurement and benchmarking regarding retail loss. It also has its flaws,” the NRF added.

Still, shoplifting is an important part of the equation, and Capital One shared some 2025 data on that problem.

About half of retailers reported more shoplifting incidents in 2025 than in 2024.

• In 2026, retailers are expected to lose $49.8 billion to retail theft. 
• Projections indicate shoplifting could cost retailers more than $59 billion in 2029.
• 48% of retailers reported more shoplifting events involving individuals in 2025 than in 2024.
• 53% of retailers reported more incidents of team shoplifting (that is, multiple individuals stealing multiple items).
• 40% of retailers also reported fewer smash-and-grab events in 2025 compared to 2024.
• Juveniles aged 12-16 are most likely to shoplift compared to other age groups.

Dollar General remains confident that it can continue to, well, shrink its shrink problem.

“We expect continued improvement in shrink and damages,” CFO Donny Lau said during the Q2 2027 call.

Vasos is confident in the future of the company.

“We feel we’re doing the exact right thing for the customer at the right time from a position of strength and on the offense. And we have the ability to flex up and flex down and have enough dry powder in the back half to be there for the customer every day,” he added.

Related: Coca-Cola, Pepsi killed 3 holiday soda flavors fans still miss