General Merchandise Stores

General merchandise stores (NAICS 452) are retail establishments selling goods across multiple product categories — clothing, household items, electronics, groceries — where no single category exceeds 50% of sales. The subsector generated over $850 billion in annual revenue as of 2023, anchored by Walmart, Target, Costco Wholesale, and Dollar General. Walmart alone operates approximately 4,700 U.S. locations and accounts for roughly half of subsector revenue.

The warehouse club format, dominated by Costco (over 600 U.S. locations) and Sam's Club (roughly 600 locations), continues to gain share through membership-fee models that produce high-margin recurring revenue while selling merchandise at near-cost. Dollar stores represent the fastest-growing store count segment: Dollar General surpassed 19,000 U.S. locations by 2024, expanding aggressively in rural and low-income areas that traditional department stores and supercenters underserve. By contrast, traditional department stores have contracted sharply — Macy's announced plans to close 150 locations by 2026 and rebrand 350 stores under its small-format strategy. Regulatory attention has increased around dollar store safety, with OSHA issuing repeated citations to Dollar Tree and Family Dollar for blocked emergency exits and hazardous storage practices, particularly at distribution centers in the Southeast.