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Costco Hikes Membership Fees

The company last raised the price in 2017

By Rob Smith July 11, 2024

Sign at Costco showing membership levels and current fees.
Sign at Costco showing membership levels and current fees.
Photo by ARTYOORAN / Shutterstock

I love shopping at Costco. Sure, our household doesn’t always need 18 tubes of toothpaste at once, but that’s a small price to pay for the savings. Even just one purchase — a computer, for instance — can recoup a basic membership fee.

Rumors have been swirling for years that the company would raise its annual membership fees, and now it has. Starting Sept. 1, Costco will charge $65 for individual and business memberships — $5 more than it currently charges — and $130 for executive memberships, a $10 hike. The company last raised fees seven years ago.

The Issaquah-based warehouse retailer says 93% of shoppers in the United States and Canada typically renew their memberships. The move is expected to generate $350 million in sales and profit the next two years, one analyst told industry website Retail Dive.

The fees generated $1.123 billion in Costco’s fiscal third quarter, a 7.6% increase year over year. Costco has 74.5 million paid household members, and 34.5 million paid executive memberships.

Costco also offers a lot more than just food, rotisserie chickens, and $1.50 hot dogs. Did you know you can book travel through Costco? Get new tires? Schedule an eye exam? Those are just a few of the unique services the company offers.

Costco operates 882 warehouses, including 609 in the United States and Puerto Rico.

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