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Dollar store giant Dollar General has joined the ranks of retailers like Walmart, offering healthcare services by partnering with DocGo, a mobile healthcare provider, to open clinics in the parking lots of three of its Tennessee stores.
The clinics are a pilot project that could lead to additional locations, depending on customer response.
DocGo services like urgent care, vaccinations and lab testing are administered in vans. Patients will be able to make appointments, but walk-in service will also be available.
The move isn't Dollar General's first foray into healthcare. In 2021, the company upped its offerings of over-the-counter medicines and dental and nutritional products at its stores in an initiative it calls DG Wellbeing.
The company anticipates there will be consumer demand for the clinics, considering that most Americans live within 5 miles of a Dollar General. Rural areas in particular are underserved by healthcare operations, but Dollar General stores are increasingly common in the more sparsely populated parts of the U.S.
Dollar General operates more than 18,800 stores in 47 states. The company reported net sales of $9.5B in its third fiscal quarter, up 11.15% year-over-year, with same-store sales up 6.8% for the period.
The Goodlettsville, Tennessee-based company plans to open about 1,050 new stores in 2023, a similar number as in 2022.
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