SAN FRANCISCO — Costco knows you’re using your friend’s membership card. To save you the embarrassment of having to tell you off at the checkout, Costco is now trying to catch member freeloaders before they even get in the door.
The retailer is introducing stricter policies and cracking down on non-members using other people’s cards by requiring customers to scan their membership cards to enter stores.
“In the coming months, member scanners will be deployed at the front door of your local warehouse,” Costco said in an online statement. “Once deployed, all members will be required to scan their physical or digital membership card by holding the barcode or QR code to the scanner before entering.”
People enter the Costco warehouse in Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania, on Friday, March 29, 2024.
AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, file photo
Costco recommends that members whose cards do not have a photo bring a valid photo ID, but advises customers to go to the membership counter and have their photo taken.
Costco’s new policy also requires that guests enter stores only when accompanied by a valid credit card holder, making it more difficult for non-members to sneak in with cards that don’t belong to them.
Costco did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The move is an extension of a system Costco tested in some stores earlier this year, which required members to have their cards scanned at machines near the store entrance rather than simply showing them to employees.
Self-checkouts were also affected by Costco’s measures. Last year, the company required its customers to show their membership card and a photo ID at the checkout.
“We do not believe it is right for non-members to receive the same benefits and prices as our members,” Costco said in a statement last year.
Costco’s crackdown on non-members comes after the company announced last month that it would increase its membership fees in the U.S. and Canada by $5 to $65 – the first time since 2017. The change will take effect on September 1.
The majority of Costco’s profits come from annual fees. Last year, the company reported $4.6 billion in revenue from membership fees, an 8% increase from 2022.
CNN’s Elisabeth Buchwald, Samantha Delouya and Nathaniel Meyersohn contributed reporting.
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