Thanks for Visiting!

Register for free to get the full story.

Sign Up
Already have a Placer.ai account? Log In

Five Below’s Back to School Success

by 
Shira Petrack
 on 
August 30, 2022
Five Below’s Back to School Success

With Back-to-School shopping in full swing, we dove into visits to Five Below to see how this fast-growing discount retailer is pulling ahead of the wider dollar & discount store category. 

Five Below Still Outperforming Wider Dollar & Discount Store Category 

Inflation may be slowing down, but high prices are still impacting shopping habits, with consumers looking to stretch their budgets driving a 16.4% increase in foot traffic to the category relative to January 2022. But despite the strength of the wider category, Five Below continues to outperform the dollar and discount store average. July 2022 foot traffic to Five Below was up 41.8% relative to January 2022 – more than double the wider discount and dollar store increase. 

Five Below’s success relative to the already strong discount and dollar store category shows that the company is not just riding the current wave of heightened demand for value-priced merchandise. Instead, Five Below has made some key strategic moves over the past two years that is setting the brand apart within the crowded discount superstore space

Five Below’s Long-Term Visit Gains

Following an exceptionally strong 2021, foot traffic to Five Below is no longer increasing at the rate it was last year – but visits are remaining above pre-pandemic levels while continuing to trend up. Between January and June (H1) 2022, foot traffic to the brand grew a whopping 55.2% on a year-over-three-year (Yo3Y) basis and increased an average of 8.0% compared to the same period in 2021. And although Five Below is expanding rapidly, the growth is not just due to the company’s larger store fleet – visits per venue in the first half of 2022 were up 15.3% Yo3Y and up 2.8% relative to H1 2021. 

Five Below Foot Traffic Boosted by Back to School

Five Below’s strength is continuing in the second half of 2022, with the weekly Yo3Y foot traffic increase growing progressively larger as the Back-to-School shopping season picks up steam. Overall Yo3Y weekly visits for the week of July 4th, 2022 were up 33.5%, but rose to 54.9% for the week of August 15th, 2022. And while the chainwide increase in foot traffic is impressive in its own right, the growth in visits-per-venue has been truly remarkable - from a 2.7% increase in Yo3Y visits-per-venue for the week of July 4th, 2022 to a 20.6% increase in visits per venue for the week of August 15th, 2022. 

Five Below’s success in bringing more consumers to stores can be partially attributed to the brand’s remodeling efforts. The company has been refreshing and optimizing its store format since 2008, and introduced the latest iteration – the “Beyond prototype”, which includes a higher-priced “Five Beyond” section – in 2020. In June 2022, the retailer announced that all new Five Below stores would operate under the new store prototype, and that the company was on track to convert 200 existing Five Below locations to the “Beyond” format by the end of the year. 

The “Five Beyond” concept allows the company to sell a wider range of products, especially in the home furnishings and tech categories – including coveted back-to-school items such as scientific calculators. With students and parents in the market for tech gadgets and dorm furniture that won’t break the bank, the new store concept may explain why this year’s August foot traffic is substantially higher than it was in August 2019, before the launch of ”Beyond Five.” 

With the dollar store space becoming increasingly competitive, Five Below continues to find ways to set itself apart from the pack. 

For more data-driven retail insights, visit placer.ai/blog.   

Get 3 brand & industry
breakdowns every week

Subscribe to the newsletter

Great! Prepare your inbox for data-driven insights...
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

Get a Demo

Please enter your first name
Please enter your last name
Please provide a valid email
Please enter your email
Please enter company name

Thanks for reaching out!

One of our experts will be in touch soon

Try Placer.ai Free
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
The CAVA Craze: A Location Intelligence Perspective on the Mediterranean Marvel
How Will Primark’s US Expansion Impact Target?
All Eyes on Eyewear
Northwestern U.S. Grocery Dive
Return of the Lunch: Salad Chains Are Thriving
Retail Media Networks – Off the Beaten Track
Bet Your Bottom Dollar: Discount and Dollar Stores Drive Foot Traffic
Ulta & Lululemon: Discretionary Spending On The Up
The Score After Q1: Sporting Goods Chains
Who Uses NYC Airports: Biting Into The Big Apple’s Main Transport Hubs
Off Price: Strength in The Face of Retail Challenges
Visits Improve for Home Improvement
Walmart, Target & Wholesalers in Q1 2023 – The Return of Mission-Driven Shopping?
Department Store Roundup: Q1 2023
Placer.ai Office Index: April 2023 Recap
Placer.ai Mall Index, April 2023 – A Rebound on the Horizon?
How Will Bed Bath & Beyond’s Bankruptcy Impact the Retail Space?
Buffet Restaurants: Filling Up on Foot Traffic
Thrift Stores: Vintage Visits Drive New Age in Apparel
The Windy City: A Hub of Post-Pandemic Opportunity
Diving into Dining Traffic - Q1 2023
Bring On The Joe
A Dollar (or more) For Your Thoughts: Five Below and pOpshelf
Dining Out With The Cheesecake Factory
Retail Foot Traffic Recap – March 2023
Digging Into 2023: McDonald’s and Chipotle Update
Placer.ai Office Index: March 2023 Recap
How Did Key Retail Categories Perform in Q1 2023?
Northeastern USA Grocery Dive
Movie Theaters Storylines for 2023
Ollie's Bargain Outlet: Discounters are Evolving
Leveraging Brick-and-Mortar Retail in 2023
America’s Evolving Work Patterns: A Deep-Dive into New York and Chicago
Placer.ai Mall Index March 2023
Tuning Into Record Stores
Five Franchises To Watch in 2023
What’s Next For Domestic Tourism?
It’s Showtime! Movie Theaters in the Spotlight
5 Limited Time Offers (LTOs) Driving Restaurant Traffic
Department Store Deep-Dive: Belk
Regional Grocery Chains Staying Ahead of the Competition
Five Chains that Rightsized for Success
Unlocking the Potential of Offline Retail Media Networks
Dining Out With Darden
What’s in Store for Self-Storage?
Nike & lululemon Update: Strong Performance Amid Expansion Plans
Many Ways to Win: Midwest Grocery Deep Dive
Retail, Reinvented: The Rise of the Pop-Up Shop
Navigating a New Normal in Business Travel & Commutes
Placer.ai Office Index: February 2023 Recap
Retail Categories Staying Strong in Volatile Environment
Ulta Beauty: Poised for Success into 2023
Placer.ai Mall Index February 2023: Reasons for Continued Optimism
Catching Up With DICK’s & Hibbett
The Miami-Dade Arena: An Advertising Slam Dunk
Car Washes Revving Up Visits
Tuesday Morning and Sunrises in Home Furnishing
Dining & Valentine’s Day Recap
2023: The Year of the Discount Store
Aldi’s Success Highlights Growing Demand for Value Groceries
5 Retail & Service Categories Holding onto Pandemic Gains in 2023
Visitor Insights from Super Bowl 2023
2023 First Look: Home Improvement Update
How Are Target, Walmart, and Wholesale Clubs Faring in 2023?
Department Store Deep-Dive: Nordstrom
Off-Price: Taking Off in Uncertain Times
Checking in On Middle-Class Hubs
Who Attends the Super Bowl?
Placer.ai Office Index: January 2023 Recap
Focusing On Fitness: Q4 and January Recap
Placer.ai Mall Index: January 2023 – Returning Mall Normalcy?
Location Intelligence Insights Into Concert Attendance
Winning Dining Strategies for 2023
In-N-Out Burger: What to Expect as the Brand Moves East
Location Intelligence Breakdown: Coffee Caps-Off 2022
Digitally Native Brands Lean Into Brick & Mortar
Washington, D.C. Population Changes & Migration Trends
A Location Intelligence Perspective on Macy’s Rightsizing
Amazon-Powered Shopping: The Future of Brick-and-Mortar Grocery?
Cold Weather, Hot Visits: Diving into Winter Resorts
Wawa and 7-Eleven: Leaning Into the “Slurpee Effect”
2022 and Beyond: Catching Up With McDonald’s & Chipotle
Let’s Have Some Fun! Going Out Is In
Placer.ai’s Q4 2022 Quarterly Index
Placer.ai Adds Industry Executives to Leadership Team To Drive Company's Next Phase of Growth
5 Emerging Retail Formats: 2023’s Brick-and-Mortar Evolution
Grocery Update: Zooming in on the Lone Star State
2022 Office Recap: The Year of the TGIF Work Week
What Lies Ahead for Brick-and-Mortar Luxury in 2023
Placer.ai Mall Indexes: December 2022 Recap
Looking Back on 2022’s Holiday Shopping Season
Post-Pandemic Migration Trends in New York
Top Retailers for 2023
The Live Sports Advertising Opportunity
Domestic Migration to the Mountain States: Small Shifts with Big Implications
New Year, New Food: 5 Dining Trends For 2023
Announcing Placer.ai’s COVID RECOVERY DASHBOARD
This is Why Shop-in-Shops Are Everywhere
Super Saturday 2022 Recap
The San Francisco Shift