Costco sales jump in September amid high gas demand
Costco Wholesale Corp. reported strong growth in September with gains in average transaction and traffic as its lower-than-average gas prices continue to attract consumers.
The membership warehouse club retailer said that its sales rose 13% to $30.02 billion in September (the five weeks ended Oct. 4), up from $26.58 billion last year. The company noted that Labor Day in the U.S. and Canada occurred one week later this year, with the shift positively impacting September total and comparable sales by a little more than 50bps.
Total comparable sales at Costco increased 11.4%, rising 12.5% in the U.S. and 6.3% in Canada. Other international comps were up 10.8%.
Total comparable sales excluding the impacts from changes in gasoline prices and foreign exchange rose 7.6%, rising 8% in the U.S. and 4.0% in Canada. Other international comps increased 7.7%.
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Digitally-enabled sales increased 19% year over year.
In other September results, the average transaction worldwide rose 6.4%, including the impacts of changes in gasoline prices and foreign exchange. Excluding the impacts, the average transaction rose 2.8%. Comp traffic or frequency, for the month was up 4.7% worldwide and up 4.3% in the U.S.
In comparable sales by category results, food and sundries were positive mid-single digits. Non-foods were positive high-single digits, with gift cards, housewares and sporting goods the better performing departments.
Ancillary sales were up mid 30s. The top performers were gas, pharmacy and food court. Gas was up in the mid 40s, driven by price per gallon changes year over year. Costco has seen increased demand at its pumps, with a gas price that is reported to be among the lowest in the country.
Costco is on track to open 14 locations across the U.S. and Canada by the end of the year. The openings are part of Costco’s plan to add 30 new warehouses annually during the next decade,
The company currently operates 939 warehouses, including 647 in the United States and Puerto Rico, 115 in Canada, 43 in Mexico, 37 in Japan, 29 in the United Kingdom, 20 in Korea, 15 in Australia, 14 in Taiwan, seven in China, five in Spain, three in France, two in Sweden, and one each in Iceland and New Zealand.
Costco also operates e-commerce sites in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Mexico, Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Australia and China.
