Costco may be cracking down on membership sharing by testing a new method of entering stores
To those who have been using their family or friend’s Costco membership, I’m sorry to share this news: the retail giant is now testing a new way to crack down on membership sharing.
Costco shoppers have said that at particular warehouse locations near the company’s headquarters in Washington, there has been a new policy implemented where customers are required to scan their membership ID at the door, according to The Hill.
The days of flashing your membership card at the Costco employee as you enter the store are gone in certain locations at the moment.
A Reddit user shared a picture they took of a sign leading into a Costco that states, “You will be asked to scan your membership card before entering the warehouse.”
The Reddit user that posted the photo reportedly followed up in the comment section, further explaining that there were two scanners at the entrance, each manned by an employee where once a person’s membership is scanned, “there’s a display that shows your face for the employee to check.”
Another Reddit user posted that at the Issaquah, Washington, location they ran into a similar situation.
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Why is Costco cracking down on membership sharing?
In a statement Costco provided to USA Today in June 2023, the statement explained that membership prices are set so that they can offer lower prices on bulk items they sell.
“We don’t feel it’s right that non-members receive the same benefits and pricing as our members,” the statement read. “Costco is able to keep our prices as low as possible because our membership fees help offset our operational expenses, making our membership fee and structure important to us.”
Despite reports that some customers worry that the new system could create longer wait times to enter the store, Costco finance chief Richard Galanti told CNN he believes differently.
“It speeds up the process at entry and speeds up the process at the checkout,” Galanti said. “That’s what we believe and we’re going to pilot it.”
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Costco is cracking down on membership like Netflix
Some reports have compared Costco’s focus on eliminating shared memberships to Netflix’s recent crackdown against members sharing passwords on its streaming service, according to CNN.
Though Netflix used to allow its members to share passwords with friends and family, it found that the practice was ultimately hurting its bottom line and decided to put a structure in place to eliminate that problem, according to Forbes.
Following the new membership policy put in place by Netflix, its subscriptions hit “a record high,” according to Antenna.
Costco’s company data reported in November 2023 to have about 129 million cardholders, with 72 million households included.
