Dollar General CEO Todd Vasos said consumers earning $100,000 or more increasingly feel financially constrained and are adopting shopping habits traditionally associated with lower-income households. Speaking Tuesday at the Goldman Sachs Global Consumer and Retail Conference, Vasos said the chain's core customers, defined as people earning less than $45,000 annually, shop closer to home, visit stores more often and buy less during each trip when gasoline reaches $4 a gallon. He said sustained inflation has caused even middle- and upper-middle-income consumers to behave similarly. The national average gasoline price is $4.476 a gallon, up from $3.189 a year ago, while diesel has reached $6.50, raising transportation costs. Utility bills, vehicles, insurance, food and caregiving have also become more expensive. Vasos said Dollar General's 2,000 items priced at or below $1 remain particularly important to shoppers. Retail sales rose 1.2% in August, or 1.1% excluding gasoline, and Vasos said continued employment has helped consumers absorb higher prices. A Harris Poll found that 64% of six-figure earners view $100,000 as the minimum needed to stay afloat rather than a marker of success. Among people earning $200,000 or more, 64% had used rewards points for essentials, 50% had used buy now, pay later plans for purchases under $100, and 46% had relied on credit cards to make ends meet. Michael Green, chief strategist and portfolio manager for Simplify Asset Management, argued last year that the effective poverty threshold should be $140,000.