Costco is known for its exceptional customer service and great deals. It keeps customers coming back time and time again. However, the warehouse seller does not always make decisions that are in line with his customers’ needs or wants. Let’s take a look at five times Costco made a big change that left customers shocked.
Costco membership in 2024
As of 2024, Costco has 132 million members and 71 million paid members. In the United States, the annual membership renewal rate is 92.7%. That puts Costco in second place, behind Amazon, for the most popular affiliate program. There are 871 Costco locations worldwide, including 600 in the US and 271 overseas. These figures have only grown over the years.
While the warehouse retailer’s CEO stands behind its decision to keep things like the $1.50 hot dog combo, there were some key changes that customers didn’t agree with.
1. Making Customers Scan Door Cards
Over the years, Costco has been trying to eliminate non-member purchases at the store. Recently, they got a strict rule about card sharing. You must have your Costco membership card to pay. No one is allowed to scan their card to go through the checkout line. Now, Costco has announced that members will need to scan their membership cards at the door to be allowed inside.
“In the coming months, membership scanning machines will be deployed at the entrance of your local warehouse,” Costco wrote on its website. “Once used, before entering, all members must scan their physical or digital membership card by placing a barcode or QR Code on the scanner.”
Members will still be able to take visitors to the store, but they will need to be accompanied by a card-carrying Costco member to gain entry. If you are trying to renew your membership or sign up for a new membership, a Costco employee at the door will ask you to go to the customer service counter before you can walk around the store and make a purchase.
Some customers are “angry” about the change, according to a Costco employee who took to Reddit to discuss the new scanners. “Members are upset about being slightly interrupted at the door to prove that they are members of a MEMBERS ONLY store,” this person wrote.
This is just one change that members will have to get used to in the coming months.
2. Peak Shopping Hours Abandoned
During the height of the pandemic, Costco introduced adult-only shopping hours. At designated times and dates, the retailer opened its doors to customers aged 60 and over early. In most places, senior members were allowed to shop within an hour before the store opened (from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.) on Tuesdays and Thursdays. This allowed older shoppers to enter the store without encountering crowds. Since Costco is always crowded, this was something the adults appreciated. The retailer decided to stop selling these watches in April of 2022. For some people, not setting these designated shopping hours was a distraction, especially following the epidemic’s intensity among the elderly.
3. Increase in Food Court Prices
Costco has made several changes to the prices of items in the play area over the years. Although the CEO said the price of the hot dog combo will never go up, there have been other items that have gone up in price. Chicken Bake, another customer favorite, is up $1 in 2022 from $2.99 to $3.99. One Reddit user wrote, “Inflation caught up with Chicken Bake.” Some shoppers in the chain pointed out that Costco does everything it can to keep prices low on some items. In addition to the hot dog combo, Costco has kept the price of the rotisserie chicken and pumpkin pie the same over the years. That didn’t stop people from complaining about other price increases though.
4. Foreign Gas Policy
Gas stations located at Costco are members only. This gives members with access to cheaper gas prices. However, in New Jersey, the state filed a lawsuit against the retailer, saying Costco was breaking the law by providing gas to members only in 2004. For a time, Costco began selling gas to anyone in the state, but eventually, they returned to their original members-only access. At first, people were getting up in arms about not being able to go up to a Costco gas station without a membership card.
5. Membership Price Changes
In order to fight inflation and keep prices low, Costco has had to make some changes to membership fees. In September 2024, the seller raised the price to become a member. Gold Star membership increased from $60 to $65. Executive membership increased from $120 to $130. That said, the benefits associated with Council membership also increase. As always, you’ll get 2% back on select purchases with your Master membership. The annual top prize increased from $1,000 to $1,250. This was the first price increase in the membership price since 2017.
Some members said they would leave all of Costco because of the price increases. “Not refreshing – Costco’s food quality has been declining for decades,” one person wrote on Facebook. “That’s one of the reasons I switched to Walmart,” admitted another. “They won’t get another penny from me.”
Although some customers were angry about the increase, Costco stood by its decision. “It’s been more than seven years since Costco last raised membership fees,” said the salesperson. “Membership fees help keep costs down so we can keep our prices low. A small increase in funding will allow us to bring even greater value to our members.”
Costco Has a Loyal Customer Base
While some of these items have scared off customers, Costco has a loyal fanbase overall. People who like to shop at Costcoindeed like Costco. Keeping up with the changes is something they will need to do in order to continue shopping there. In general, people have been very receptive to each of these things. As the numbers showed, it didn’t affect Costco’s membership or growth at all.
What do you think of some of these Costco changes? Were you upset at first? Let us know in the comments.
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