Ollie's Bargain Outlet, Inc

Review by eFreeware

Most retailer apps try to be a full storefront. Ollie's takes a narrower route: it is a companion for people who already shop the chain, built around browsing deals, reading a local flyer, finding a store and keeping the Ollie's Army card handy. That focus is the most distinctive thing about it, and it shapes everything else.

If you drop into Ollie's regularly, or you plan stops around a trip, this is the sort of app that earns a spot on your home screen. It is free, carries no advertising and has no in-app purchases, so there is nothing to weigh beyond whether the features match how you shop. With more than a million installs and a 4.1 average from 4,427 ratings, it has clearly found an audience among the chain's regulars.

Deals and flyers, without the paper

The app's main job is showing what is currently on offer. The developer describes a deals section that highlights the best of the chain's rotating stock, so you can see what is worth a trip before you leave the house. Because Ollie's assortment changes constantly, having that in your pocket is more useful here than it would be for a store with a fixed catalog.

Alongside the deals, you can pull up your local store's flyer inside the app. That matters if you are used to grabbing a paper copy at the entrance or checking a mailbox circular, since the flyer is the traditional way these promotions are laid out. Reading it on a phone means you can compare offers while you are out and about rather than trying to remember what you saw.

I would treat both features as planning tools rather than a full online catalog. The app shows what is being promoted; it is not presented as a way to buy anything or check whether a specific item is on a shelf. For a chain whose appeal is the hunt, that is a reasonable division of labor.

Finding a store and planning a stop

The store locator is the part I would expect to get the most use from travelers. It brings together maps, directions and store hours, so you can find the nearest location or line up a visit in advance. The developer pitches it as a way to plan ahead for bargains on an upcoming trip, which fits how people actually shop this chain: you go when you are near one, not on a fixed weekly run.

Having hours in the same place as directions is a small thing that saves a wasted drive, particularly if you are passing through a town you do not know. The locator is the feature that makes the app useful even when you are not a loyalty member, and it is the one I would point a casual shopper to first.

What it does not do is hold inventory. You can see where a store is and when it is open; whether a particular item is waiting there is a different question, and the app is not set up to answer it.

The Ollie's Army card on your phone

For members, the app consolidates the Ollie's Army side of things. Your card and your offers live in the app and can be scanned straight from the phone, which removes the need to carry the physical card. You can also check your rank and points and update your profile information without going through a store visit.

That combination is the strongest argument for installing it if you are already in the program. A scannable card plus a running view of your points is exactly the kind of thing a loyalty app should handle, and having offers in the same place as the card keeps you from juggling two sources at the register.

The profile editing is a minor convenience, but it means corrections to your details do not have to wait for a trip. Nothing here suggests the program works differently through the app; it is the same membership, presented in a more portable form.

What you need before you start

Setup is not something the developer spells out in any detail, and the app is free to download, so there is no cost barrier to trying it. The features that matter most, the deals feed and the store locator, are the kind you would expect to depend on current information.

The one clear requirement is on the loyalty side: the card, offers, rank and points features are tied to an Ollie's Army membership, so they are only relevant if you have joined the program. Everything else, including the flyer and the locator, is aimed at any shopper.

The app has been available since May 2018 and was last updated in March 2026, with the most recent changes described as minor bug fixes and improvements. That pattern suggests a tool that is kept ticking over rather than one being rebuilt around new ideas.

A companion for regular Ollie's shoppers

The people who will get the most from this are the ones who already know the chain and want less friction around a visit. If you check the flyer before you go, like to know the hours of a store you have not tried, or keep losing track of your Army points, the app gathers all of that into one place. It is a utility for existing customers rather than a way to discover the brand.

It is also a sensible install for someone who travels and likes to fold a stop into a trip. The locator with directions and hours is the piece that travels well, and the deals view gives you a reason to bother.

If you rarely set foot in an Ollie's, or you are looking for an online shopping experience with a cart and checkout, this is not built for that. The app is about the stores, the promotions and the loyalty program, and it stays in that lane.

Whether it earns a place on your phone

On balance, this is a straightforward, no-cost companion that does a handful of jobs well: current deals, the local flyer, a store locator with maps, directions and hours, and the Ollie's Army card with offers, rank and points. It is free, shows no ads and asks nothing for in-app purchases, so the decision comes down to whether those jobs match your habits.

I would suggest it to regular Ollie's shoppers and to Army members who would rather scan a phone than carry a card. If your visits are occasional and you mainly want the locator, it still does that job without getting in the way.

For anyone who wants to browse and buy online, the app is not that. Judge it as a pocket guide to the stores and the loyalty program, and it lines up well with what it sets out to do.

What's new in version 1.12.3

Minor bug fixes and improvements.