Costco June sales inch up; same-store sales, online drop

E-commerce sales continue to fall at Costco Wholesale Corp.

The retailer reported sales of $22.86 billion for the five-weeks ended June 2, up  0.4% from $22.78 billion last year.

Total company comparable-store sales fell 1.4%, with a 2.5% drop in the U.S. Excluding the impacts from changes in gasoline prices and foreign exchanges, total comp sales rose 3%, with a 2% increase in the U.S.

Total comparable E-commerce sales fell 0.7%.  Excluding the impacts from changes in gasoline prices and foreign exchanges, e-commerce sales fell 0.4%.

For the 44 weeks ended July 2, 2023, Costco reported net sales of $196.93 billion, an increase of 4.6% from the year-ago period.  Total comparable sales for the period are up 3%, with a 3.5% increase in the U.S.  Excluding impacts, total comp sales are 5.3%.

E-commerce sales are down 6.9%, and down 5.8% excluding impacts.

In May, Costco reported third-quarter results that missed expectations as consumer spending on bulk items remained slow. Net income totaled $1.3 billion for  the quarter ended May 7, down from $1.35 billion. Net sales increased 1.9%, to $52.60 billion. E-commerce sales declined 10% during the quarter.

Costco currently operates 855 warehouses, including 587 in the United States and Puerto Rico, 107 in Canada, 40 in Mexico, 32 in Japan, 29 in the United Kingdom, 18 in Korea, 15 in Australia, 14 in Taiwan, four each in China and Spain, two in France, and one each in Iceland, New Zealand and Sweden. Costco also operates e-commerce sites in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Mexico, Korea, Taiwan, Japan and Australia.