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Five Below & Ollie's Traffic Signals Growth for Value Retail

Discover how Ollie’s (OLLI) & Five Below (FIVE) are capitalizing on consumers' current value orientation to expand the discount discretionary retail segment. 

By 
Shira Petrack
August 22, 2025
Five Below & Ollie's Traffic Signals Growth for Value Retail
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Key Takeaways
  • Five Below and Ollie's achieved exceptional Q2 2025 visit growth of 18.3% year-over-year respectiy, while maintaining strong same-store performance with increases of 9.4%
  • Both chains are executing aggressive expansion strategies with Five Below planning 150 new locations in 2025 and Ollie's opening 75 stores while acquiring 40 Big Lots leases, proving that growth doesn't come at the expense of existing store performance.
  • Cross-visitation between the two value-oriented retailers reached historic highs in H1 2025, indicating an expanding market opportunity rather than competitive cannibalization.

Expansions, Rising Demand Drive Visits Growth For Five Below & Ollie’s 

Value-oriented retailers Ollie's Bargain Market (OLLI) and Five Below (FIVE) continue their impressive growth trajectory, with Q2 2025 visits surging 18.3% and 14.3% year-over-year, respectively.

Both chains are aggressively expanding their footprints – Ollie's acquired around 40 Big Lots leases and opened 25 of its projected 75 new stores by May 2025, while Five Below plans to add 150 locations this year after opening hundreds in 2024. Critically, the expansions are not coming at the expense of existing stores. Same-store visits grew 9.4% at Ollie's and 5.9% at Five Below, meaning individual locations are actually busier now than last year – despite the larger fleet size.

These positive traffic trends underscore the strong consumer appetite for value-oriented discretionary retail in today's economic environment and highlight the growth potential of the two chains. 

Increased Cross-Visitation Highlights Segment's Growth Potential 

Five Below and Ollie's positive visit trends demonstrate that growth doesn't have to be zero-sum. Rather than cannibalizing each other's traffic, both chains are successfully growing in parallel, as their increased store presence and busier locations expand the overall value-oriented discretionary retail market.

This growth can also be seen from the cross-visitation data in the chart below. H1 2025 saw the largest share of Ollie's shoppers visiting Five Below and the largest share of Five Below shoppers visiting Ollie's in recent years. (The cross-visitation from Ollie's to Five Below was likely significantly higher than the reverse due to Five Below's much larger physical footprint.) 

This rising cross-visitation between the two chains validates the expanding market opportunity for value-oriented discretionary retail, as consumers increasingly embrace multiple value-oriented shopping destinations to meet their needs.

Broad Appeal In the Bargain Space

The strong performance of Five Below and Ollie's in Q2 2025 demonstrates the resilience and growth potential of the discount retail sector during challenging economic times.

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Related Topics

Ollie's Bargain Outlet, Five Below
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