Costco thrives in July, starts installing card-scanning tech
Retailer hopes the move curbs membership sharing
![A Costco store.png A Costco store.png](https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt58a1f8f560a1ab0e/blte8125c79a9648281/66cc8831d906b81dd80a6996/A_20Costco_20store.png?width=1280&auto=webp&quality=95&format=jpg&disable=upscale)
Costco rang up another successful month, as net sales for July came in at $19.26 billion, a 7.1% year-over-year increase.
Comparable sales in the U.S. were 5.3% better than a year ago while ecommerce sales were 20.2% higher. Excluding gasoline, comparable sales in the U.S. were 6.3% better vs. July 2023.
Net sales over the first 48 weeks of fiscal year 2024 stand at $229.81 billion, a 7.1% improvement year over year.
The robust July earnings report comes as Costco begins installation of card scanners at the entrance of all stores. The Issaquah, Wash.-based company tested the tech earlier this year — which is aimed at preventing card sharing with non-members.
“Over the coming months, membership scanning devices will be used at the entrance door of your local warehouse,” Costco said in a statement. “Once deployed, prior to entering, all members must scan their physical or digital membership card.”
Members are still able to bring in guests.
A little over a year ago Costco made the move to require members to provide a driver’s license along with their membership card if they wanted to use self-checkout. The move was aimed at prohibiting membership sharing and shoplifting.
The retailer said the card-scanning tech will prevent workers from asking for membership cards at registers and self-checkout.
Costco has 617 U.S. locations as of July 22, according to data from ScrapeHero.
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