Costco sales surge in July even as online cools

Costco Wholesale Corp. reported strong same-store sales growth in July even as its digital sales growth inched downward.  

The warehouse club retailer’s net sales rose 16.6% to $15.21 billion for the four weeks ended Aug. 1, up from $13.04 billion in the year-ago period.

Total same-store sales increased 13.8%. By division same-store sales in the United States rose 13.1% and 16.5% in Canada. Comp sales were up 14.4% internationally. 

Digital sales have started to cool as more people return to in-store shopping. Costco’s e-commerce sales rose 7.4% on a comp basis in July compared to 20.8% in June and 75.3% in the year-ago period.

Worldwide, the average transaction for July was up 6.4%, David Sherwood, assistant VP of finance and investor relations at Costco, said during the company’s call with investors.

In the 48-week year-to-date period, Costco’s net sales totaled $176.3 billion, up 17.8% from $149.66 billion a year ago. Total comp sales are up 16.2%.

Costco currently operates 813 warehouses, including 562 in the United States and Puerto Rico, 105 in Canada, 39 in Mexico, 30 in Japan, 29 in the United Kingdom, 16 in Korea, 14 in Taiwan, 12 in Australia, three in Spain, and one each in Iceland, France, and China. Costco also operates e-commerce sites in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Korea, Taiwan, Japan, and Australia.