With the economy struggling and many Americans looking for ways to save money, Costco has proven to be resilient. The chain has continued to grow its membership and maintains nearly 90% of its members worldwide.
That shift may reflect a broader shift in the way middle-class consumers spend money.
“Costco’s March 2026 sales aren’t just about cheap hot dogs. It’s evidence that the middle class is withdrawing from the ‘work’ of the corner store and into saving at the warehouse,” RTMNexus CEO and TheStreet Advisor Dominick Miserandino shared with TheStreet.
“At the end of Q2, we had 40.4 million paid memberships, up 9.5% year-over-year. We ended the quarter with 82.1 million paid members, up 4.8% year-over-year and 147.2 million cardholders, up 4.7% year-over-year,” said CFO Gary Millerchip during the team’s second earnings call. this warehouse club.
He also shared the company’s retention rate.
“In terms of renewal rates, at the end of Q2, our renewal rate in the US and Canada was 92.1%, down 10 basis points from last quarter; and the global rate was 89.7%, unchanged from last quarter,” he added.
These numbers come despite the company increasing its membership prices in September 2024 by $5 to $65 for a Gold membership and $10 to $130 for a Master membership. The increase, however, may have helped the product.
“Over the past two years, Costco has made several moves that risk disrupting its loyal customer base — including increasing membership fees in September 2024 and limiting access to the food court to members only. But travel data suggests that, rather than deterring shoppers, these changes have supported increased engagement and expanded customer base,” according to Placer.ai.
Placer.ai data shows that membership price increases may have had an unintended effect.
“By increasing the ‘commitment cost,’ Costco may be discouraging casual or opportunistic users while deepening engagement among shoppers who do the math and buy more often to justify the expense,” the data firm wrote.
Costco continued to see customers spend more when they visited its warehouse club.
“Globally, average transactions were up 7.8%, including impacts from gas and FX. Excluding gas and FX inflation, average transactions were up 4.6%,” said Director of Financial Planning and Investor Relations Andrew Yoon in prepared remarks for the series released on its March sales.
Related: Costco History: Company Timeline and Facts
He also shared which sectors are growing the most.
“Food and sundries were in the low to mid single digits. Best performing departments include food, sweets and sundries. Fresh food was up in the high single digits. Best performing departments include bakery and meat,” he added.
Food wasn’t the only winner for the chain.
“Non-food had mid to high single digits. Better performing departments included jewelry, majors and hardware. Corresponding business sales were up in the mid 20s. Pharmacy, gas and food court were the top industries. Gas was up in the mid to high 20s, driven by price per gallon change year over year and volume growth,” he shared.
The chain shared its annual sales in an SEC filing.
Total sales for the first 31 weeks were $173.26 billion, a 9.1 percent increase from $158.87 billion last year.
Costco saw higher gasoline sales amid rising gas prices, CFO Gary Millerchip said during a second-quarter earnings call.
Unusually, several South Florida Costco locations show steady traffic at gas stations, especially during peak hours, with lines regularly forming at the pumps.
Zacks analysts grouped Costco and Walmart together to explain why both are doing well in a challenging economy.
“What makes WMT and COST comparable is that both companies win with the same playbook: low prices, strong private label offerings, efficient supply chains and growing digital capabilities. Both also use membership-related revenue to deepen loyalty and patronage,” Zacks shared.
It’s a timely comparison because both retailers are navigating the same sales landscape of cautious but resilient consumers, overseeing inflation and the growing need for convenience.
Analysts noted that Costco’s membership fees create a stable and highly leveraged income stream.
“This recurring revenue gives Costco the ability to maintain lower sales margins, strengthen its value proposition and strengthen long-term customer loyalty in a highly competitive retail environment,” the company added.
GlobalData Managing Director Neil Saunders explained Costco’s simple proposition to members of RetailWire.
“Costco’s business is built on the principle that members pay money to access great value. Since Costco makes a lot of money from those money, every action is designed to protect renewal,” he said.
Fellow Brain Trust WhyteSpyder Vice President of Partnerships Scott Benedict seconded his view.
“The goal is not to increase the limit on each item or category, but to bring the lowest cost structure to the member and get the most profit through membership growth and renewal,” he wrote.
Related: After bankruptcy, Hooters closes restaurants, struggles to survive
This story was originally published by TheStreet on April 14, 2026, where it appeared first in the Marketing section. Add TheStreet as a favorite source by clicking here.
