Costco had another successful month, with net sales in July reaching $19.26 billion, an increase of 7.1% year-over-year.
U.S. comparable sales were 5.3% better than a year ago, while e-commerce sales were 20.2% higher. Excluding gasoline, U.S. comparable sales were 6.3% better than July 2023.
Net sales for the first 48 weeks of fiscal 2024 are $229.81 billion, an increase of 7.1% year-over-year.
The solid July earnings report comes as Costco begins installing card scanners at the entrances of all stores. The Issaquah, Washington-based company tested the technology earlier this year — it’s designed to prevent cards from being passed around to non-members.
“In the coming months, member scanning devices will be deployed at the front door of your local warehouse,” Costco said in a statement. “Once deployed, all members will be required to scan their physical or digital membership card before entering.”
Members can still bring guests.
A little over a year ago, Costco began requiring members to present a driver’s license in addition to their membership card when using the self-checkout lane. The goal of this measure was to prevent membership sharing and shoplifting.
The retailer said the card scanning technology will prevent employees from asking for membership cards at checkouts and self-checkout terminals.
According to data from ScrapeHero, Costco has 617 locations in the U.S. as of July 22.
