A Costco membership costs $60 annually, and the company is doing everything it can to make the membership more worthwhile to keep. Well, perhaps their focus is more veered towards competing with Amazon.
A new, club-members-only feature will enable users to utilize their memberships online where they can continue to purchase their items in bulk, have access to 35 brands’ websites and save 20% or more while doing it.
The program is called Costco Next and has been around since 2017, while the products available were limited. Recently, however, Costco has upped their game, offering products that range from Anker phone chargers and cables, Mikasa dinnerware, weatherproof outdoor clothing, Invicta watches and Sumbody skincare, just to name a few.
For those interested, the program is being advertised on the Costco website, where buyers can browse the aforementioned products and more. The company plans to add more brands and products in the coming year.
Anyone familiar with Costco knows that short, cheap visits simply don’t happen. Customers flash their membership upon entry into a massive warehouse filled with goods ranging from electronics to alcohol. E-commerce only makes up for a small percentage of the company’s income with online sales dipping this year after surging in 2020.
The company is optimistic that enabling its members to shop online will encourage them to continue to re-up their memberships every year while also signaling that Costco is more than just a physical store. The program, as mentioned on the website, brings new merchandise to their wide selection “while also increasing the value” of a Costco membership.
What sets Costco apart from their competitors is that they curate their selection, making available only the brands and products that are popular and sought out by their members. Frequent changes to the merchandise are made where new items are added in attempt to get their customers to come back and see what’s new.
Costco Next will be “continuously evolving, frequently adding new brands,” says the website. They want you to “Discover what’s new.”