Costco Hikes Membership Fees

I love shopping at Costco. Sure, our household doesn’t always need 18 tubes of toothpaste at once, but that’s a small price to pay for the savings. Even just one purchase — a computer, for instance — can recoup a basic membership fee.

Rumors have been swirling for years that the company would raise fees, and now it has. Starting Sept. 1, Costco will charge $65 for individual and business memberships — $5 more than it currently charges — and $130 for executive memberships, a $10 hike. The company last raised fees seven years ago.

The Issaquah-based warehouse retailer says 93% of shoppers in the United States and Canada typically renew their memberships. The move is expected to generate $350 million in sales and profit the next two years, one analyst told industry website Retail Dive.

The fees generated $1.123 billion in Costco’s fiscal third quarter, a 7.6% increase year over year. Costco has 74.5 million paid household members, and 34.5 million paid executive memberships.

Costco also offers a lot more than just food, rotisserie chickens, and $1.50 hot dogs. Did you know you can book travel through Costco? Get new tires? Schedule an eye exam? Those are just a few of the unique services the company offers.

Costco operates 882 warehouses, including 609 in the United States and Puerto Rico.