Dollar General is hitting its big-box retail competitors with a pilot program for healthcare services.
Dollar General, based in Goodlettsville, Tennessee, has opened mobile healthcare clinics at three stores in Tennessee, in partnership with DocGo, which provides transportation and mobile health services. The mobile clinics will provide on-site services including annual physicals, immunizations, urgent care, and testing several days a week at each location.
Dollar General says the pilot program complements the DG Wellbeing initiative to bring more health and wellness products into stores—an initiative many see as an effort won market share from CVS and Walgreens. As of October, DG Wellbeing products were available in more than 3,200 of DG’s nearly 19,000 stores nationwide.
A spokesperson for Dollar General did not respond to requests for more information or interview executives.
As Dollar General expands its healthcare presence, some consultants question whether the retailer has staffing problems like the ones plaguing the sector. greater health care or not.
“Anyone who wants to do something new has to find a way to staff them,” said Jeff Goldsmith, president of healthcare consulting firm Health Futures. “Anyone of these people, whether they’re an existing hospital system or a new primary care physician business like Oak Street or whatever, I mean the fundamental question is, at Why work for them? What is the value proposition for healthcare workers?”
Big retailers like Dollar General can capitalize on their presence in the community by supporting heavy hiring efforts and maintaining high levels of recruitment, said Bryan Niehaus, vice president of consulting firm Advis. salaries are competitive enough to attract the nurses or physician assistants needed to manage clinics. If the clinics are successful, Dollar General could choose to outsource less of its health care services, potentially designing stores to include exam spaces, as others have done, he said.
Dollar General’s broad footprint in rural areas could also be a competitive advantage. The company estimates 75% of the US population lives within 5 miles of one of its stores.
Dollar General has been eyeing the healthcare space for years. In 2018, it launched its Better for You program to stock healthier food items like fresh produce and more nutritious snacks. The DG Fresh initiative, launched in 2019, offers door-to-door delivery to reduce costs for frozen and refrigerated products. The company has also partnered to improve access to a COVID-19 vaccine amid the pandemic.
Corey Tarlowe, an equity research analyst at Jefferies, sees mobile clinics as a long-term game for Dollar General. “If it works in a smaller subset of stores, I think, right near headquarters where they can keep a close eye, then one thing Dollar General has proven is that it has the potential to really open up. scale up operational initiatives, he said.
