Dollar General expands AI-powered in-store audio to 12,000 stores

Dollar General is pushing deeper into the business of selling shopper attention, expanding AI-powered in-store audio across about 6,000 stores in 48 states and setting up a network that will reach 12,000 stores by the second quarter of 2026. The move turns another part of the sales floor into monetizable media, with the company promising more localized messages, better measurement and a more relevant shopping experience.

The rollout sits inside DG Media Network, Dollar General’s retail-media arm, and it comes as value chains keep looking for ways to squeeze more revenue from the same square footage. Austin Leonard, the vice president and general manager of DG Media Network, said the company was trying to unlock “an entirely new layer of relevancy and accountability in the shopping experience.” Dollar General said the system would deliver “more relevant, localized and measurable audio experiences” for shoppers and “accountable, data-driven advertising” for brand partners.

For Big Lots employees and anyone watching the discount sector, the bigger point is not the audio itself. It is what the audio represents: a store model where merchandising, marketing and measurement are getting fused together. In a chain built around price-sensitive shoppers, that can be a delicate balance. More vendor-funded messages may bring in new money, but they can also clutter the store environment if the ads feel too frequent, too generic or out of sync with what is actually on the shelf.

That tension matters at Big Lots because the company’s recent path has been defined by reinvention under pressure. Big Lots operated 1,392 stores and an e-commerce platform as of February 3, 2024, then filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September 2024. Variety Wholesalers acquired 219 stores out of bankruptcy, and Big Lots reopened 132 stores in May 2025 and nearly 80 more in June 2025 before announcing a nationwide grand opening celebration for October 30, 2025.

Retail media is increasingly attractive because it gives retailers a new revenue stream and relies on first-party data and closed-loop attribution, meaning brands can connect ad exposure more directly to sales. That is why in-store audio is gaining traction alongside screens, app placements and digital coupons. Stingray says it operates North America’s largest in-store audio advertising network, while Compass Media Networks says its InStore Audio Network reaches more than 39,000 stores. Dollar General is now moving into the same space with a more data-driven pitch.

QSIC, Dollar General’s partner on the rollout, said its platform can use store-level transactions, weather and events to schedule ads and timestamp each ad for transparency. That kind of precision is exactly what retail-media buyers want as measurement becomes harder to wave away. The question for chains like Big Lots is whether these tools create a cleaner, more profitable store experience, or just another layer of noise in a format that still lives or dies on value and convenience.