Dollar General is rolling out FedEx drop-off and collection services at thousands of its stores to help it take on Walmart

Shutterstock/Jonathan Weiss

Dollar General is growing at a rapid rate.

• Dollar General will bring FedEx drop-off and collection services to 8,000 of its stores by 2020. By the end of the summer of 2019, these services will be offered in 1,500 of its stores.
• The new partnership is mutually beneficial. It makes FedEx's services more convenient for a larger customer base and means that Dollar General is able to bring more people into the store and hopefully drive more sales because of this.
• Dollar General is growing at a rapid rate in the US and is increasingly becoming a formidable force for Walmart.
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There are over 15,000 Dollar General stores in the US and by the end of 2020, just over half of these will offer FedEx drop-off and collection services.

This new partnership, which was announced on Monday, is mutually beneficial. It enables FedEx to offer convenient services to a broader range of shoppers (thanks to Dollar General's giant store base) and gives these customers another reason to visit a Dollar General store. The hope is that by offering more services customers become more loyal, use the store more frequently, and spend money on other things when they're there.

It will also help Dollar General to take on Walmart, which offers its own FedEx shipping services at 500 of its stores.

Read more: Dollar General is dominating in America. Here's how it keeps its prices so low.

Dollar General, which is known for being a bargain hunter's paradise, has been described as growing at a pace that is largely "unthinkable" in retail and is becoming a bigger force against the US' biggest retailer, Walmart.

According to recent data from GlobalData Retail, 75% of the US population is now within five minutes of a Dollar General store; 37% live within five minutes of a Walmart store or roughly 90% within 15 minutes.

It is not only putting Walmart under pressure by expanding its physical presence, but it is also doing so by expanding its assortment.

Dollar General has long been known for offering non-perishables. However, in an effort to draw in more frequent visitors, it has brought fresh produce to hundreds of locations and plans to grow this in 2019. This enables it to better compete with Walmart and become the go-to place for a mid-week shop for some consumers.