Costco Wholesale has recorded a 7.1% increase in net sales for July 2024, reaching $19.26bn, up from $17.99bn in the same month the previous year.  

The company's comparable sales for the four weeks ended 4 August 2024 grew by 5.2%, with the US business registering 5.3% growth in the month. 

Costco’s Canada and other international businesses also reported 6.3% and 3.7% comparable sales growth respectively. 

Notably, Costco's e-commerce comparable sales surged by 20.2% in July.  

During the first 48 weeks, Costco's net sales amounted to $229.81bn, marking a 7.1% increase from $214.53bn in the same month last year. 

In a strategic move to enhance its membership exclusivity, the company is set to install membership scanners at the entrances of all its locations.  

This initiative aims to prevent nonmembers from shopping at the stores and is expected to be implemented soon.  

As part of this initiative, members will be required to scan their cards upon entry, replacing the current method of showing them to employees. 

A Costco statement read: "Over the coming months, membership scanning devices will be used at the entrance door of your local warehouse. Once deployed, prior to entering, all members must scan their physical or digital membership card by placing the barcode or QR Code against the scanner."  

The company also emphasised that guests must be accompanied by a valid member to enter a store. 

The introduction of this technology follows a testing phase earlier this year.  

Costco CFO Richard Galanti commented on the change, noting that membership sharing had increased since the pandemic in 2020.  

The scanners will expedite the entering and checking out process as employees will no longer be asking shoppers for membership cards at registers and self-checkout, Richard Galanti told CNN. 

This introduction of scanners comes a month after Costco announced an increase in its basic membership fee, the first since 2017.