Costco: Most Members Don't Shop There That Much - Page 10

NicksmomESQ · ‎08-19-2014

There's a Costco about a mile from my house.I'm There about every other week.I love the place!!

WenGirl42 · ‎07-05-2012

@Noel7 wrote:
What it means is obvious. Of course most members aren't frequent shoppers. Most food is sold in bulk. You don't run out of most products every few days.

What does happen often, at least in the Costcos we go to, is that shoppers buy a lot at once. It lasts awhile.

Yes, but for it to be true that most of their profit comes from memberships, there have to be many more people who never shop there than who occasionally shop there. Although it probably also speaks to a low profit margin on their high-volume products, compared to the 100% membership profit.

momtochloe · ‎11-03-2013

@WenGirl42 wrote:
LOL at all the "but my store is busy!" replies. As if both of those things can't be true at the same time...that most members don't shop much and that the stores can be busy. That just means the corporate planners have a formula that tells them how many stores they need per number of expected shoppers (as a percentage of purchased memberships). Imagine how much busier those stores would be if more members started shopping regularly!

@WenGirl42 I get what you are saying. I now live in between two Costcos. One is in a more established area and one was recently built in an area that is growing. It is more than interesting to see how each store is stocked. The more established store has I would think their regular offerings but to be honest a huge liquor department (which encroached on the bakery section which had been larger). The other in my area has a huge bakery and very much smaller liquor offering and also has many more home improvement items especially for gardening as there is a ton of new building in that area.

NYC Susan · ‎03-13-2010

@WenGirl42 wrote:
LOL at all the "but my store is busy!" replies. As if both of those things can't be true at the same time...that most members don't shop much and that the stores can be busy. That just means the corporate planners have a formula that tells them how many stores they need per number of expected shoppers (as a percentage of purchased memberships). Imagine how much busier those stores would be if more members started shopping regularly!

My "but my store is busy" reply was meant to address what a poster had said about Costco probably going out of business. Since every Costco I've been to has been crowded every single time, I doubt that's true. I'm sure some posters were addressing that also.

Of course you're right that most members not shopping much and stores being crowded are not mutually exclusive.

DiAnne · ‎09-22-2010

@jaxs mom wrote:
@tansy wrote:

@jaxs mom wrote:
I thought it was just my store, they've also cut back a lot on books. Especially cookbooks.

About 90% of what I buy there is food or paper products though.
Books just don't sell that well since Amazon and ebooks.
The change in Costco books has been very recent within the last year or two, ebooks have been around for a long time as has Amazon ( 1994 and I've been customer since 2001)

I have noticed several changes since the original CEO retired.

Hoovermom · ‎03-19-2010

@DiAnne wrote:
@jaxs mom wrote:
@tansy wrote:

@jaxs mom wrote:
I thought it was just my store, they've also cut back a lot on books. Especially cookbooks.

About 90% of what I buy there is food or paper products though.
Books just don't sell that well since Amazon and ebooks.
The change in Costco books has been very recent within the last year or two, ebooks have been around for a long time as has Amazon ( 1994 and I've been customer since 2001)
I have noticed several changes since the original CEO retired.

Six years ago???????????

tansy · ‎01-02-2011

@jaxs mom wrote:
@tansy wrote:

@jaxs mom wrote:
I thought it was just my store, they've also cut back a lot on books. Especially cookbooks.

About 90% of what I buy there is food or paper products though.
Books just don't sell that well since Amazon and ebooks.
The change in Costco books has been very recent within the last year or two, ebooks have been around for a long time as has Amazon ( 1994 and I've been customer since 2001)

Borders, Barnes & Noble and Amazon drove independent bookstores out of business. Now Borders is gone and B&N is struggling. Costco reduces inventory that isn't selling well. I stick by my statement, @jaxs mom.

I am pleased to see some small bookstores coming back recently.

aubnwa01 · ‎03-09-2010

I've been a Costco member since 1983 (back then, in the Seattle area at least, there was no membership fee, but you had to work for a utility or belong to a credit union to shop there & you'd pay 5% over whatever the price of the item was at checkout) I still buy a lot there including groceries, gas, optical, pharmacy, tires, etc. & also bought my new car thru their auto buying program, & also got a new central air conditioner/furnace & new carpeting thru their contractors a few years back.

I've never really thought their prices had a lot of profit built into them to begin with, so not surprised their profits come from membership fees.

aprilskies · ‎03-09-2010

Costco around me is always busy. I shop a lot there, various things. I like them. The membership is worth it to me even though it is starting to get a little pricey, I think.

DiAnne · ‎09-22-2010

@Hoovermom wrote:
@DiAnne wrote:
@jaxs mom wrote:
@tansy wrote:

@jaxs mom wrote:
I thought it was just my store, they've also cut back a lot on books. Especially cookbooks.

About 90% of what I buy there is food or paper products though.
Books just don't sell that well since Amazon and ebooks.
The change in Costco books has been very recent within the last year or two, ebooks have been around for a long time as has Amazon ( 1994 and I've been customer since 2001)
I have noticed several changes since the original CEO retired.
Six years ago???????????