Five Below has become the go-to store for trendy yet affordable clothing, home decor, toys and more. With over 170k posts tagged Five Below on TikTok, content creators are going viral for sharing their favorite finds with their followers — and it seems like every other day there’s some new trending product that blows up on social media.
So how do you keep track of what seems like a never-ending supply of must-have products? We spoke to two content creators and regular Five Below shoppers, Madison Burton and Paige Constantino, in addition to a store representative, to learn the best tips and tricks for shopping at the budget-friendly chain.
Use social media to stay up to date on new releases.
Stick to product categories you can trust.
Yes, Five Below has an endless assortment of products for $5 or less. And while that may sound exciting, Burton recommends proceeding with caution, especially when shopping in certain categories.
“I definitely go for quality over quantity in many areas in my life, but I love a good deal whenever I find one,” says Burton. “A lot of Five Below kitchenware, like cups and such,
has held up for me. Clothing and pillows are not necessarily great quality,” says Burton.
Like anywhere else, visit the store in person to inspect products and determine what is really worth it. Once you’ve seen or bought a few products you love, you’ll be able to figure out what categories work for you and your home.
Be patient in the clearance section.
Whether you’re looking for one specific item or you’re just browsing around for the latest trending products, going into the chaos that is the clearance section with a clear mind will do wonders for your shopping experience.
Dare to enter the $5+ section.
Although the store name implies that all of its products are under $5, that’s not the case. But don’t worry! Just because the items in the store’s Five Beyond section cost a few extra dollars doesn’t mean they don’t provide great value.
In fact, you can find some pretty impressive products at an extremely affordable price. Just take Five Below’s robo vacuum cleaner and foldable pet ramp, for example.
Check out your local store’s restock schedule.
Five Below-related social media content is pretty much always coming out, which means there are plenty of opportunities to stay up to date on the store’s restock schedule, especially if you follow people on social media who shop there consistently. However, the schedule can also be found officially through a few other sources, according to a store representative:
“We always ensure customers are aware of new product lines, trending items (as seen on TikTok) and new seasonal variety (e.g. Summer, Back-to-School, Holiday). All new items and restocks of customer favorites are showcased on our social channels, fivebelow.com and email.”
Take advantage of in-store shipping.
While online shopping is usually hassle-free, that’s unfortunately not always true at Five Below. Many products on the store’s site can’t be shipped directly to your home, and for the items that can be, there’s often a minimum requirement of how many of the same item you have to purchase at once to take advantage of the feature.
But that doesn’t mean you can’t still enjoy the benefits of shopping at home in your pajamas. Instead of ordering a product to your home, choose store pick-up. While there are still minimum quantities required sometimes, they’re often much less demanding (Five Below requires you to purchase five of this blanket when shipping to your home but only two when shipping to the store, for example).
So if you can’t find something at your local store, that doesn’t mean you can’t get it shipped there. Just go to their site and see what’s possible for each specific item.
Laura Millar (she/her) is the assistant editor for Good Housekeeping, where she covers home design. Prior to joining Good Housekeeping in 2024, she wrote for NBC’s TODAY.com where she covered everything from entertainment news to product reviews to pop culture updates.