Major U.S. Discount Chain with 20,000 Stores Announces Mass Closures Amid Retail Crisis

If you like to shop at dollar stores, it might feel like it’s getting harder and harder to find one nearby, and if it doesn’t feel that way right now, just wait.

While the 99 Cents Only stores shut their doors last year, another popular discount chain is cutting way back this year in 2025. Dollar General isn’t closing for good, but a lot of their store locations are.

The Daily Mail reports that the popular discount retail chain currently operates more than 20,000 stores, but 96 of them will be closing in 2025. In addition, they’ll be closing another 45 stores that operate under the pOpshelf brand.

While the company has not yet announced which store locations, they have said that they have decided to close the stores because they are not profitable enough. While customers once flocked to discount stores like Dollar General to get products they wanted at a low price point, that’s not necessarily the case anymore.

During a December earnings call, CEO Todd Vasos explained, “Many of our customers report they only have enough money for basic essentials, with some noting that they have had to sacrifice even on the necessities.” Many of Dollar General’s customers are in the lower income bracket making less than $50,000 a year.

During a post-earnings call, Vasos shared, “What has become apparent as we move into [the first part of 2025]is trade down is back.”

Previously, Dollar General had planned to open an additional 575 stores in 2025. It’s unclear whether or not that is still the plan considering close to 100 stores are on the chopping block. However, it is still possible new stores will open while others close. It could just be that the stores closing are in oversaturated markets where having fewer stores will mean less competition.

On the other hand, Dollar General may end up closing a lot more than the 96 stores. Truist Securities analyst Scot Ciccarelli shared, “We believe these closures could just be the beginning of a larger culling process.”

In 2024, 7,000 store locations closed, but in 2025, that number could be much higher. Ciccarelli predicts that it could more than double with possibly as many as 15,000 stores closing, and those would include many more chains than just Dollar General. For example, within the past 12 months, brand including Macy’s, Big Lots and Party City have all announced store closures.

Watch the video below to learn more about why Dollar General is struggling.