If you like hunting for deals during Dollar General penny sales, you'll definitely want to know how to shop a Dollar General clearance event. Whenever one of these clearance events pop up (they're rather unpredictable), you can plan on saving an additional 50% on already reduced items.
The only catch? Dollar General clearance events happen in stores only, so inventory is limited. But some lucky shoppers find savings of up to 70% (or more) once you factor in sale prices and additional discounts.
But before you shop these clearance sales, you've gotta know exactly which products to hunt for, since not every item in the store gets marked down by 50% (and they're not the same deals as you'll see in the Dollar General weekly ad). You’ll also need to know how to navigate their app, what the price tag stickers actually mean, and exactly which Dollar General coupons you're going to want to clip ahead of time (like the $5 off $25 Saturday coupon).
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Dollar General Clearance Events happen every few months and give you an additional 50% off select items in stores.
To make room for new seasonal inventory, Dollar General holds clearance sales a few times a year at most store locations. Generally, the items that get the markdowns are the same at all stores that participate in the clearance event.
We predict the next Dollar General Clearance Event will happen Aug. 16 - 18, 2024.
Dollar General hasn't officially announced the date for their next clearance event (they never really do), but based on when they held their clearance events last year at this time, we suspect another Dollar General Clearance Event will take place Friday, Aug. 16 - Sunday, Aug. 18, 2024.
Here are the items that were 50% off their already reduced prices during the last event:
POG Clearance — aka planogram (DG's guidebook to proper product positioning) clearance that's located throughout the store and indicated with orange tags
Clearance Section
Purple Clover Home Items — look for a purple clover symbol on the price tag
Blue Dot Toys — look for a blue dot on the price tag
Green/Yellow Diamond Electronics — look for a green or yellow diamond on the price tag
Select Dinnerware Pantry Items
Select Sanitizers and Wipes
How do we make our prediction?
There’s really no specific schedule for Dollar General Clearance Events, but they tend to pop up every few months (or sometimes, every few weeks) and generally last from Friday to Sunday. To give you an idea of the pattern, here are some of the most recent dates of past clearance events:
Aug. 2 - 4, 2024 (Friday - Sunday)
June 7 - 13, 2024 (Friday - Thursday)
May 10 - 12, 2024 (Friday - Sunday)
March 1 - 3, 2024 (Friday - Sunday)
Oct. 20 - 22, 2023 (Friday - Sunday)
How to Shop a Dollar General Clearance Event
1. Clip the Saturday-only coupon in your Dollar General app ($5 off $25) ahead of time.
With these particular store coupons available in the DG app (iOS/Android), your total has to reach the spending threshold pre-tax and after all discounts are applied. These coupons are typically valid on Saturdays only, and there's usually just one: a $5 off $25 offer.
But for the clearance event that happened Aug. 2 - 4, there was an additional coupon you could clip, good for $10 off a purchase of $40 or more. You could use both of these coupons in one transaction as long as you met the spending threshold of at least $65.
KCL TIP: A $5 off $25 coupon also gets printed at the bottom of your receipt if you make a purchase at Dollar General during the week. If you want to use this printed store coupon in addition to the digital one, just split up your transaction.
2. Get to the store early — the good stuff goes fast.
Unlike the seasonal clearance events at Dollar General (like the sales that happen after Christmas, Valentine’s Day, etc.), the 3-day Clearance Events don’t get any better as the event goes on. So head to your store early before things sell out. Also, know that inventory varies by store.
One way to get a peek at your store's inventory is to check Dollar General's Clearance Page online and enter your zip code. "Not everything is listed," according to one of our Dollar General deal hunting experts, "but it will give [you] an idea of what might be available at [your] store."
Just keep in mind that online inventory isn't always accurate.
KCL TIP: If you can, visit a bunch of Dollar General stores near you in the days leading up to a clearance sale. That way you can scout out which stores seems to have the most clearance items in stock — and you'll know which stores to visit first.
3. Use the Dollar General app to scan clearance items before you check out.
The Dollar General app is easy to navigate and a must to check pricing on items before you buy them. You'll want to download the DG app (iOS/Android) before shopping. While you're in the store, open the app and use the CartCalculator to scan the item you think is on clearance; then confirm the price while you’re shopping.
And when you’re scanning items in the Dollar General app, look for coupons to show up below the item. If you see a coupon, clip it to save it to your account. This will maximize your savings potential as long as the coupon actually sticks. We’ve had issues with getting DG coupons to save properly, so you may have to keep trying.
Once you get to the register, just enter your phone number to apply any coupons to your order automatically.
KCL TIP: If you’re having trouble with the app while in the store, check your Wi-Fi connection. You’ll want to make sure you’re connected to the DG-Customer account. It’ll take a second or two to load the Terms of Service screen that you’ll need to accept first, before you can connect to their Wi-Fi.
4. Check for orange clearance tags throughout the store.
Don’t get fooled into thinking the only items with markdowns are the ones in the clearance aisle or on the tables at the front of the store. For a Dollar General Clearance event, items with orange clearance tags throughout the store get additional markdowns too.
For example, if the regular price on an item is $3 and there’s a 10% off sticker on the shelf, you’ll first take 10% off the regular price, then take 50% – 70% off the sale price. This is what insiders refer to as “POG Clearance,” which is Dollar General’s terminology used for shelf displays (the POG, or planogram, is DG's guidebook to proper product positioning throughout the store).
5. Hunt for penny sale items while you're there.
As long as shoppers haven't swiped them all yet, you may be able to find some of the week’s Dollar General penny list items still on shelves at your store. Penny list items have already been heavily discounted — usually by more than 90% — and will ring up at just $0.01 at the register.
When we shopped the Dollar General Clearance event in May, we found a few penny items scattered throughout the store.
Use our list so you know what hidden penny items to look for while you’re shopping in store.
6. Look for deals at Dollar General Market locations too.
It’s not just regular Dollar General stores that get the markdowns. Dollar General Market stores need to offload excess inventory from time to time as well. Just bypass the fresh foods area and head straight to the regular aisles with the seasonal and clearance merchandise.
7. Check Ibotta for cash-back rewards on items you purchased.
If you already use the Ibotta app, you know that it’s a goldmine for finding rebate offers on grocery and household items you were probably going to buy anyway. Check the Dollar General page on the app to see if any offers match with clearance finds — then link your Dollar General account with your Ibotta account before you shop to get the credit.
