Matthew Dong on LinkedIn: Costco vs. BJ's vs. Sam's Club, which is better? Looking at their… (2024)

Costco Raises Membership Fees: What You Need to KnowCostco, the popular warehouse club, is adjusting its membership fees for the first time in seven years. The annual fee for the basic Gold Star and Business memberships will rise from $60 to $65 starting September 1, 2024.The Executive membership fee will increase from $120 to $130 per year.For Executive members, the maximum annual 2% reward will now be $1,250, up from the previous $1,000.Costco had held off on raising fees due to consumer concerns about inflation. However, the time has come for this adjustment.Membership income is crucial for Costco, allowing them to invest in operations and maintain low prices on goods.Costco’s customer base, which tends to be more affluent, has helped insulate the company from broader sales pullbacks. Like Sam’s Club, Costco is adapting to market trends by adjusting membership fees.Remember, while the cost of membership is changing, the beloved $1.50 hot dog combo remains untouched!#Costco #MembershipFees #RetailNews

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"VOA Shares How to Maximize Your Savings with Costco Rewards - Earn Up to 4% Cash Back!"Attention savvy shoppers and Executive Members! 🛒✨ Did you know your shopping experience got even more rewarding with Costco Rewards?As part of the VOA Portfolio Management team's insights, we're excited to share that you can earn up to a fantastic 4% cash back on your in-store and online purchases at Costco.Here's how it works:You're already entitled to 2% cash back as an Executive Member. 🌟Pair this with a Costco credit card and add another 2% to your rewards. 💳That's double the savings, double the joy! Whether stocking up on essentials or treating yourself, every purchase returns more value to your pocket. Share this with a friend who loves Costco and spread the savings! 💬👥#VOAInsights#CostcoRewards#SmartShopping#CashBack#GNEX#ExecutiveMemberBenefits#SavingsStrategy

"VOA Shares How to Maximize Your Savings with Costco Rewards - Earn Up to 4% Cash Back!"Attention savvy shoppers and Executive Members! 🛒✨ Did you know your shopping experience got even more rewarding with Costco Rewards? As part of the VOA Portfolio Management team's insights, we're excited to share that you can earn up to a fantastic 4% cash back on your in-store and online purchases at Costco.Here's how it works:You're already entitled to 2% cash back as an Executive Member. 🌟Pair this with a Costco credit card and add another 2% to your rewards. 💳That's double the savings, double the joy! Whether stocking up on essentials or treating yourself, every purchase returns more value to your pocket. Share this with a friend who loves Costco and spread the savings! 💬👥#VOAInsights #CostcoRewards #SmartShopping #CashBack #GNEX #ExecutiveMemberBenefits #SavingsStrategy Vacation Ownership Advisor

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I'm a Costco superfan. The prices are hard to beat and you can get pretty much anything there — I've even booked my mom a cruise.https://ift.tt/2qOIzV8Michael McKinlay describes himself as a Costco superfan.Courtesy of Terumi MoritaMichael McKinlay, 46, from Calgary, describes himself as a Costco superfan.As well as its low prices, McKinlay likes its returns policy, Kirkland brand, and how it treats its staff.He's used Costco to buy hockey sticks, hire rental cars, and even book a cruise for his mom.This as-told-to article is based on a conversation with Michael McKinlay, 46, who lives in Calgary, Canada. He is a self-proclaimed Costco "superfan" and runs an Instagram account and multiple Facebook groups for fans of the retailer. The article has been edited for length and clarity.I'm a Costco superfan. I'm on a different level than most people.It offers really good value. And everything is there, so you don't have to go to a ton of different stores.Since I was a teenager my parents had always been going to Costco. I've been a Costco member myself since September 2014. I had always gone before that too, maybe with a friend who had a membership, or my parents.Since I joined I've had the Executive Membership. It's currently 120 Canadian dollars ($87), although it's going up to 130 ($95) soon. It gives you 2% cash back. That pays for itself for me.It's all about getting a good dealI go to Costco about once a week. I usually go to my closest store and I'm pretty efficient. I usually spend half an hour to 45 minutes in the store. I look up what's on sale before I go and I make a list. I am not an impulse buyer or a shopper. I know what I want.Michael McKinlay says it's hard to beat the prices at Costco.Courtesy of Terumi MoritaCostco is my go-to for most things. Most of the time I'm just buying groceries. I do go to a couple of other grocery stores just because I have a small family and everything at Costco is bulk and I don't want to buy something and then have it go to waste.For most things, and even electronics or household stuff, I will definitely check out Costco first. But I'll look at other places because maybe you'll find a better deal. For me, it's all about getting a good deal, but generally Costco is pretty solid. It's hard to beat.Costco sells middle-of-the-range products. So it's not garbage or stuff that's going to break down. It's a good medium between quality and price.I buy a mix of Kirkland and branded products. If Kirkland is a little bit less, then I'll likely buy it. It would probably be a default. But it's a mix because Kirkland doesn't make everything — there's only a select number of things that it makes.The Kirkland brand is just as good. I used to buy its diapers for my son. I've almost never been disappointed.I really like the store-baked cookies and desserts although I try to limit myself since they have a lot of sugar. I usually only buy them if they are on sale, which isn't ...

Even Costco Wholesale is looking for new ways to capture more dollars from each of their locations.According to CTV News, some stores in North America are testing a digital card scanner for member entry to crack down on shoppers who have not paid a membership fee.For Costco, people shopping in their locations without a membership is a big deal: the company uses the margin on the products they sell to fund their operating costs, but membership fees are how the company makes a profit.Most brick-and-mortar retailers don't charge shoppers a membership fee, so a "crackdown" to boost profits isn't an option.But there are other ways to capture more dollars from each of your locations:➡️ Better merchandising so customers add more to their carts;➡️ Better inventory management so no sales are lost to out-of-stock items;➡️ Localized product selections that are more appealing to shoppers.If you're a multi-unit retailer who wants to get more from your store, Optimum Retailing (OR) is here for you... let's have a conversation.#brickandmortar #retail #membership #profit

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Costco has a 90% retention rate with the first tier of their membership. I upgraded my Costco membership while checking out. It made me think a lot about what folks in B2B could learn from brick and mortar.*No, this isn't a sponsored post, I just have immense brand-loyalty to Costco because they have such a good deal on gas in California (among many other things)*On a 8pm shopping run (best time to go, imo) I had already scanned my membership, emptied my cart, and was ready to pay. The cashier got some signal like a beep or a notification or some other fancy shmancy alarm and flagged down their associate. The associate came over to me and said something to the effect of "hey, you spend a lot with us and if you upgrade to the next tier you'll get more cash back in the form of a check at the end of the year."I never knew this was a benefit of the higher tier. I shop at Costco for the deal I get in bulk items, despite the chastising I get from my friends for having multiple cases of almond milk in my fridge (jokes on them, I haven't bought almond milk since January).Usually, I would brush the person off in a "thanks, but no thanks" kinda way but for some reason it clicked in that moment as a good deal. I didn't have to stop what I was doing for long at all, I didn't even have to change my membership card. They charged the difference between my current membership tier and the next highest tier and I got to keep my card. The whole process took less than 30 seconds, from being flagged down to me confirming I would upgrade. Costco gets twice as much predictable revenue from me.There's no hard data realization here other than the fact that the buyer experience didn't feel like I was being sold to... It didn't feel slimy or even like I HAD to do it. I upgraded because it felt like I was getting a good deal (and I'm pretty sure I am). I won't be changing my spending habits and Costco retains a happy customer (hence the whole high retention rate).Please, please, please: make the buying experience pleasant. Costco knows this and that's why their renewal rates on their membership is so high.

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Given the current state of living costs going up, this was bound to happen. As much as there are great deals sold at Costco compared to other retailers, contrary to belief, most consumers spend more money there than other places, volume-wise. Nevertheless, longtime Costco members know the types of merchandises to buy in order to get their money's worth (not to mention their incredible return policies), all of which makes the membership pricing very little in the long run.https://lnkd.in/gx2W9jNP

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Exclusively for....Costco Wholesale. Citi recently added its Flex Pay feature to its Costco Anywhere Visa Card just in time for the holidays and will reportedly add it to the Costco Anywhere Visa Business card in the coming months. Flex Pay allows cardmembers to pay a fixed monthly fee for purchases >$75 with payment plans up to 24 months.💡Exclusive benefit. Nearly missed this one! As part of the launch, Costco cardmembers get an "exclusive benefit" - NO FEES AND NO INTEREST ON COSTCO PURCHASES FOR 3 MONTHS - as Citi and Costco attempt to kick-start the new benefit and garner some interest.💡💡Slow roll. Approx. 3 million emails 👇 were sent to cardmembers on Nov 9 ahead of the holidays, according to Comperemedia which is just a small segment of the total suggesting that Costco is being cautious with the rollout. Consumers have expressed interest in using BNPL for groceries and with budgets stretched thin during the holiday season, Flex Pay gives this card a competitive advantage.#emailmarketing #advertisingandmarketing #marketing #BNPL #installments #exclusiveoffer

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Card Factory (LSE:CARD) said profits this year will be at the top of market forecasts after strong trading through its stores in the run-up to Christmas.Like-for-like store revenue was up by 7.8% in November and December as the number of transactions rose and average basket value increased, helped by targeted price rises.Christmas and seasonal cards did well, the statement added, as did an expanded gift offer with the addition of key licensed ranges.#CardFactory (LSE:CARD)’s online arm also showed signs of improvement with double-digit like-for-like sales growth in November and December, which reduced the 11-month decline to 12.8%.Total sales for the 11 months ended 31 December 2023 were £476.9 million (prior year of £432.6 million), an increase of 10.2% year-on-year.Store revenue grew 8.2% on a like-for-like basis, with card sales rising by 5.4% and gifts by 9.9%.More at #Proactive #ProactiveInvestors #LSE #CARD http://ow.ly/Kl7H10592tH

Don't leave home without it. Costco is about to do its own version of a password sharing crackdown with the introduction of membership scanners. Yes, customers will soon need to scan their membership cards to gain entrance.Members Only jacket not included. Whether you're buying bulk bananas or a shed for your backyard, customers entering Costco will need to have their membership cards scanned and their customer ID images visually confirmed by an employee. There's no discount on business sense. Costco’s decision to install scanners at warehouse entrances could be a strategic move to protect its notoriously slim profit margins. By deterring membership sharing, a practice that surged during the pandemic, the company aims to safeguard its primary revenue stream: membership fees. With an annual haul of $4.6 billion in membership fees alone, it's clear why Costco is taking steps to prevent revenue leakage.The Sunday 'stroll in' becomes a relic. In practice, the new entry process creates another choke point, this time before customers even make it into the always-busy warehouse. Think of it like friction. In the past, customers could simply flash their membership cards to a lone employee manning the door. With scanners, they're potentially looking at lines and for now, plenty of time spent by employees explaining how it works. You'll need to cross the road to get to the $5 rotisserie chicken. If the price of admission is scanning your card, it really shouldn't be an issue for customers. For its part, Costco is planning to raise membership fees later this year. You can blame inflation for the membership card crackdown if that makes you feel better https://lnkd.in/gepYeu7u #costco #membership #customers #retail #discounts

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