Costco has officially increased its membership prices. It’s the retailer’s first increase since 2017. The change went into effect on Sept. 1.
The increase follows an earlier announcement by the company in July when it said that annual membership fees would increase from $60 to $65 in the United States and Canada for Gold Star memberships, affecting over 50 million memberships.
Just over half of the affected memberships are executive memberships, which the company said would increase from $120 to $130 annually. The associated maximum annual 2 percent reward would increase from $1,000 to $1,250.
Membership fees were last increased seven years ago, when the cost of executive memberships in the U.S. and Canada increased from $110 to $120.
The same year, the retailer began charging an additional $5 for individual, business, and business add-on members in the U.S. and Canada, bringing the annual fee to $60.
According to an August report, Costco currently operates 884 warehouses, 611 of which are located in the United States and Puerto Rico. Another 108 are located in Canada, 40 in Mexico, 33 in Japan, and 29 in the United Kingdom.
The company also has warehouses in Korea, Australia, Taiwan, China, Spain, France, Iceland, New Zealand, and Sweden and multiple e-commerce sites worldwide.
Net sales for Costco have increased by nearly seven percent from last year, to around $210 billion as of July 2024.
According to its website, “Costco Wholesale Corporation operates an international chain of membership warehouses, mainly under the “Costco Wholesale” name, that carry quality, brand-name merchandise at substantially lower prices than are typically found at conventional wholesale or retail sources.”
The warehouses cater to small—to medium-sized businesses by helping to reduce costs in purchasing for resale and everyday business use while also facilitating purchases for members’ personal requirements.
The company operates on a members-only policy and offers three types of membership: Executive, Business, and Gold Star.
NTD reached out to Costco for comment but did not hear back before publication time.