My Inside Look After Five Years of Five Below Shopping - 33rd Square (2024)

As someone who has regularly shopped Five Below stores over the past five years, I‘ve seen firsthand how this rapidly growing chain delivers thrills and disappointments. Today, I want to give you the full insider perspective on what you can realistically expect from Five Below in terms of product range, quality and value.

Overview – From Scrappy Startup to Hot Shopping Destination

Back in 2002, Five Below began as a small operation out of Philadelphia. The original idea came from co-founders Tom Vellios and David Schlessinger seeking a one-stop shop tailored towards teens and pre-teens. They noticed a gap where tweens and young teens had outgrown dollar stores, but couldn‘t afford pricier mall stores.

Five Below filled this void perfectly with trendy candies, toys, beauty sets, accessories and room decor targeted specifically at kids ages 5-15 years old. The only catch – every item priced at an unbelievable $5 or less.

Shoppers initially flocked for the perceived bargains on brand name items before realizing some serious catches. But we’ll dissect the pros and cons shortly.

Despite rocky product reception at times, the Five Below business model clicked. Through strategic brand partnerships and resonance with youth audiences, Five Below expanded rapidly to over 1,100 locations across 42 states today.

Five Below By the Numbers

Recent annual sales reached an astonishing $2.8+ billion as Forty Below mania ensued. And the chain aims to eventually operate over 2,500 stores, projecting almost $10 billion in yearly sales.

Key Five Below Stats:

• 1,178 current store locations

• Added 80+ new stores in 2021 alone

• 42 states with Five Below store presence

• 4.9 stars out of 5 on overall Google Reviews

• 2,800+ employees across corporate and stores

• 18 million rewards program members as of 2020

• 11 million app downloads driving digital sales

• 71% of stores located in strip malls and shopping centers

• 8,000 – 12,000 square foot average store size

Merchandise and Shoppers: Fickle Tweens Rule Here!

When entering the bright, buzzing Five Below locations, the tween and teen target market becomes immediately obvious. You’ll discover walls of smartphone cases, trendy room signs, candy station make-your-owns and every kind of squishy sensory toy imaginable.

The product mix shifts constantly to match adolescent taste and trends. However, you can typically find goods across the following categories:

Style: Accessories, beauty sets, jewelry, hair/nails

Room: Wall art, string lights, pillows, storage

Create: Crafts, slime/putty, paints, DIY sets

Play: Games, plush animals, action figures, outdoor

Candy/Snacks: Sweets, soda, seasonal, name brands

New Tech: Audio, electronics, phone gear, computer

Party: Tableware, banners, balloons, favors

This merchandise keeps young shoppers flooding in for new fads, while ambitions for rapid growth push managers to order first and assess item quality later. The result? Inconsistencies abound and certain products disappoint more than delight.

Now that we’ve set the scene, let’s dig into specifics on the frequent Five Below letdowns in terms of manufacturing, safety hazards and product defects.

Manufacturing and Safety – Made Cheaply in China Without Certifications

In efforts to offer everything under $5, most Five Below inventory gets mass produced at the cheapest possible factories in China and other overseas locations. Without any supply chain transparency or ethical manufacturing certification, social compliance and production quality controls remain questionable at best.

You‘ll notice missing safety seals on food and cosmetics, absent ingredient lists that identify allergens and general lack of compliance symbols commonly required for goods sold in the U.S.

When asking customer service about oversight for merchandise direct from Chinese suppliers entering American distribution centers, I received frustratingly vague answers about relying on the manufacturer’s integrity. Though agents claim all products undergo warehousing quality checks before store shipments, they could not provide specifics on these supposed safety inspections.

In my experience shopping multiple Five Below locations since 2017, identifying manufacturer details on packaging marks the exception, not the norm. And geo-tagging photos posted by other customers on social media pins most products as made in China without additional tracking information.

While Five Below refuses accountability for supply chain ethics, the onus falls to consumers to inspect merchandise closely for issues upon purchase. Now, let’s explore common product problems spotted frequently across categories.

Beauty Sets – Fun Packaging, Questionable Contents

For tweens first experimenting with makeup, Five Below offers play sets galore with radiant Disney princesses, glittery unicorns and every popular license under the sun promising hours of playtime fun. However, safety issues and premature breakage occur way too often.

Take this Ice Princess Makeup Set for example:

• Ice Princess Makeup Set – $5

What young girl wouldn’t adore the sparkly blue styling? Yet scarcely a week after giving this to my niece for her birthday, I received panicked calls from my sister when her daughter suffered adverse skin reactions from trying the glitter eye gel and suspect lip colors. The plastic mirror piece also cracked quickly, raising concerns about hazardous materials in the manufacturing.

Upon closer inspection, I should have heeded warning signs like the strong industrial scents, chalky pigments and lack of ingredient safety seals. However, the irresistible Disney theming and $5 cheap price tag clouded my better judgement.

In the future, I plan avoiding all cosmetics and skincare at Five Below no matter how cute the packaging appears. The bargains simply don‘t justify the risks.

Squishies – Soft Texture But Short Lifespan

Squishy collectibles fill entire Five Below aisles with seemingly endless novelty creatures, desserts, emoji shapes and more to squish your stress away. My youngest daughter fell hard for these sensory toys, even starting up trades with friends at school. And I’ll admit, the super soft, microbead-filled foam provides satisfying stress relief after long work days.

But most squishies disappointingly lose form and solidness rather quickly, going from risen to looking weaponized in weeks with ragged edges from frequent squeezing. Such short lifespan means continually re-upping our squishy supply which adds up costing more than better quality versions found elsewhere.

Truthfully, we probably luck out that most dollar store squishies flatten faster than a stomped whoopee cushion. At least this prevents hoarding hundreds of the microplastic-shedding toys like YouTubers with entire rooms devoted to decorative squishies. Given environmental impact, limiting squishy quantity ranks wiser.

drank Apparel – Fades and Shrinks Rapidly

Now onto clothing, where impossibly cheap prices sounds too good to pass up for trendy tops and loungewear sets from Five Below’s in-house brands. However, fabrication quality and durability issues become obvious shortly after that first wash.

I went through three disappointing shrink/fade cycles purchasing super soft drank leggings before conceding defeat. The buttery soft modal fabric felt divine during that initial wearing before rapidly bagging the next and requiring weekly trimmings to cut off the ragged hems.

My teenage step-daughter experienced similar issues with a popular drank cropped hoodie that looked hopelessly worn out after a month with cracked graphics and misshapen seams.

For the inevitable lifespan, better off admiring in-store than wasting money on poor quality apparel.

Final Verdict – Shop Smart & Carefully!

Overall, Five Below tempts shoppers with tantalizing bargains across hot product trends and novelty items in a vibrant, youth-centered shopping environment. However, scattered through the thrilling deals and discount heaven lie plenty of lemons too, especially with toys, electronics and fashion categories.

By familiarizing yourself with frequently problematic merchandise ahead of time, the informed shopper can still take advantage of Five Below fun while avoiding the pitfalls. Just keep quality expectations reasonable relative to rock bottom pricing, thoroughly inspect goods for safety issues and defects before purchase and avoid storage bins during flu season.

When applied thoughtfully, the Five Below shopping strategy makes for a fine frugal adventure! Just heed caution against limited-time only fads and know when to walk away.

Hopefully these Five Below tips and tricks I’ve gathered from the frontlines helps you become a savvier shopper at one of the nation‘s hottest bargain chains. Feel free to reach out with any other questions!

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