How To Shop the Next Dollar General Clearance Event (Aug. 2 - 4)

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, like the one we've heard is coming Friday, Aug. 2 - Sunday, Aug. 4. Whenever one of these clearance events pop up, 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 do find savings as high as 70% off the original prices.

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 the importance of bringing your own Dollar General coupons to the sale.

For more smart shopping tips and savings hacks, download the KCL app or text HACKS to 57299.

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.

The next Dollar General Clearance Event is predicted to run Aug. 2 - 4, 2024.

Dollar General hasn't officially announced the date for their next clearance event (they never really do), but according to leaked employee documents online, the next event is predicted to happen Friday, Aug. 2 - Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024, and the event will include both seasonal items and core items (aka non-seasonal clearance items).

Here are the specific product categories that we expect will ring up as 50% off during the event:

• POG Clearance (aka "planogram" 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 will 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:

• June 7 - 13, 2024 (Friday - Thursday)

• May 10 - 12, 2024 (Friday - Sunday)

• March 1 - 3, 2024 (Friday - Sunday)

• Oct. 20 - 22, 2023 (Friday - Sunday)

Tips for Shopping a Dollar General Clearance Event

1. 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 three-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 the inventory varies by store.

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!

2. Clip the $5 off $25 Saturday coupon in your Dollar General app to save even more.

With this particular store coupon, your total has to be $25 after all discounts are applied. These coupons are typically valid on Saturdays only.

And when you’re scanning items in the Dollar General app, if a coupon shows up below the item, 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 the 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.

TIP: The $5 off $25 coupon also gets printed at the bottom of your receipt if you make a purchase during the week. If you have multiple printed coupons, you can split up your transaction to save even more.

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 your pricing on items before you buy them. Open the app and use the CartCalculator to scan the item you think is on clearance and confirm the price while you’re shopping in-store.

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 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 all 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 of the sale price. This is what insiders refer to as “POG Clearance,” which refers to Dollar General’s “planogram” terminology they use for shelf displays.

5. Also hunt for penny sale items while you're there.

As long as shoppers have not swiped them all up yet, you may be able to find some of this 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 as 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, too. 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!