Costco to start scanning membership cards at the entrance of all its stores

Is the real play here to try and make account sharing more difficult? Encourage more membership purchases?

Been a shopper there for 30 years - they're not a company that makes changes willy nilly. Even if you can get into the store without a card, you can't buy anything without one. Surely the cost of sneaky samplers isn't the main thrust of this.

Hot dogs aren't wrapped anymore and buns got smaller. Fuck the new guy.

I shop at Costco. I don’t mind scanning my card. I suspect anyone who shops at Costco does not care one way one another. This isn’t news, and anyone getting irate about this should find a new topic.

I am confused, don't they scan your card before you check out?

The scanners also spare Costco employees from having to ask shoppers for membership cards at registers and self-checkout, speeding up the process of entering and checking out, the Galanti told CNN.

Wait, one of the things is that Costco has is that it actually stores purchases on your account (this is especially useful for returns).

How do they connect purchase with your account?

Does this mean that they will use facial recognition? That's not that cool...

Costco in the UK have been scanning cards since covid. It started as a way to limit numbers in store then someone probably went and looked at the data.

Boo. I'd been using an expired card to get in to buy pizza.

Are they changing policy that the food court and pharmacy are accessible to everyone? That’s in my membership agreement.

what... they have been doing this for quite a while already

They're are two stores close to me, and I've been to both of them this week. One of them had the scanner, the other didn't. I'm not really sure how it helps them, but it didn't hold me up any either.

I wonder if this is a way to get rid of the two greeters at the door.

They've already been doing it for a month up here in Ottawa, Canada

How will it work in Michigan where you can get alcohol without a membership?

When they ask for my membership at the entrance I tell them that I'm just buying alcohol

I visited a local Costco and they have started scanning memeberships, I forgot what the person told me but I think they have been doing it for a couple of weeks, not sure though.

I wonder how they will get around the alcohol only non-members.

While this legal side-step is great news for state residents hoping to save money on alcohol, it's not as simple as merely walking into the store and heading to the liquor section. Since greeters often check for membership cards at the door, someone hoping to take advantage of this loophole will likely need to tell the greeter they are there to purchase alcohol. Once inside, they will typically be given a temporary number by the membership desk, but will not be allowed to grab extra grocery items or hit the food court for a snack during their shopping spree; aside from the pharmacy and liquor, everything else at Costco is out of bounds.

In states where this alcohol loophole exists, additional limitations may apply. According to My Bartender, Costco stores in Delaware, Indiana, Texas, and New York are only allowed to sell wine and beer; other states permit the sale of hard liquor, while the state of Vermont insists that club stores sell their spirits to members only. Consumer Reports notes that these same policies apply to other club stores including BJ's Wholesale Club — but not to Sam's Club stores, which already have a nationwide policy of allowing non-members to purchase alcohol.^[[1] https://www.tastingtable.com/1355636/non-members-buy-liquor-costco-states/]

Costco Wholesale is installing membership scanners at the entrances of all of its locations to discourage non-members from shopping at the stores.

Guests must also be accompanied by a valid member in order to enter a store, Costco added.

The discount retailer began testing the technology earlier this year, with Chief Financial Officer Richard Galanti relaying that more people had been sharing memberships since the pandemic in 2020.

Costco earlier in the year cracked down on who uses its food court to ensure that only members can capitalize on its famous $1.50 wiener-and-soda deal.

Costco said last month it was hiking its basic membership fee for the first time since 2017, increasing the annual charge to $65 from $60. The roughly 8% cost increase takes effect on September 1, the warehouse club announced. The cost of a premium membership is rising to $130 from $120. Costco also said the maximum annual 2% reward for its executive membership will rise to $1,250 from $1,000.

Wait you guys got conned into paying to go shopping?!?

All those leaded petrol fumes really did a number didn't they lol

Serious Costco vibe in these comments

They cannot enforce this unless they remove the pharmacy. Just refuse and walk in.

Velcome to Costco. Your papers, please.

Media Bias Fact Check | bot support