Dollar General expands retail media network with AI-powered audio and unified ad platform

Austin Leonard, vice president and general manager of DG Media Network, speaks at CSP’s Retail Media Network Forum in Chicago.CSP Staff

Dollar General has a huge reach. It has more than 21,000 stores across the United States. It has more than 7,000 stores with fresh produce. And it offers same-day delivery from more than 18,000 of its stores.

When retailers are building their retail media networks (RMNs), it’s important to tell potential advertisers how unique their reach is, said Austin Leonard, vice president and general manager of DG Media Network, who spoke in May at CSP’s Retail Media Network Forum in Chicago. Dollar General can differentiate itself from competitors because of its scale.

Retail media network growth

Dollar General has had its DG Media Network since 2018, but the theme for this year was to level up what the company has already built, Leonard said. He shared some key pieces of their tech stack, including a new partnership to help unify on-site and off-site activation.

Dollar General announced in April that it was growing its in-store audio network with QSIC. The rollout is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2026 and would bring the total number of stores with in-store audio capabilities to about 12,000, roughly double its current footprint.

In store audio capabilities

Goodlettsville, Tennessee-based Dollar General said the system will use artificial intelligence (AI) to deliver localized audio messages in stores. The company said the technology is intended to allow for more targeted messaging and improved measurement of advertising performance.

At the RMN Forum, Leonard gave examples of audio clips and asked the audience to determine which were created by AI. The responses from attendees were mixed, with no unanimous decision on which ads were generated by AI.

The scripts were written by humans and designed for DG’s customers, but AI allows them to push it through production quicker, he said.

“If you do it right, the customer won't know whether it's an AI voice or non-AI voice,” Leonard said. “So, it also helps with some of those very expensive talent fees.”

Leonard said Dollar General is not only excited about the ad potential with the in-store radio, but also how it can help make a better shopping experience.

“I fully believe that bringing the audio into our stores, and bringing music, it’s a better shopping experience. We can help make that more lively. And we're excited to see that lift continue as we bring in the AI tools to make it more customized for each store as well,” he said.

Unified ad platform

On April 30, Dollar General announced its partnership with Durham, North Carolina-based retail media infrastructure company Kevel. Kevel, Dollar General and advertising platform The Trade Desk partnered to deliver a retail media solution that unifies on-site and off-site activation with consistent measurement.

The solution gives advertisers a single, connected way to plan, execute and measure campaigns across the full consumer journey, Kevel said in a news release on the partnership.

“The solution combines Dollar General’s on-site retail media inventory with off-site activation across the open internet through The Trade Desk, all supported by Kevel’s retail media technology,” Kevel said. “Together, the companies are enabling a level of interoperability and coordination that has not previously been available in retail media.”

Kevel built a connection so DG can buy its own on-site inventory within The Trade Desk. They can now control the reach, frequency and optimize performance of ads on that single platform. And it will allow Dollar General to potentially open its inventory for more self-service buying from some of the national brands, Leonard said.

“It seems pretty basic,” he said. “As marketers, you want to bring your channels together. You want to be able to manage across all your inventory sources. But as we know, as we're building these retail media networks, we have separate, siloed platforms that we're trying to connect together, and this is a big advancement that we think will bring a lot of value to our customers from, from a managed service standpoint and also as it opens up to self-serve.”