A retail chain beloved by bargain hunters has unveiled a big expansion it’s going to be embarking on over the course of the next several months. As many as 15 new Costco store locations are opening through the rest of this year, including half a dozen in August alone.
It’s the kind of thing that can be read as an indication things are slowly but surely getting back to normal, and that we’re moving on from the lean years of the pandemic. Speaking of which, the Costco chain also axed the special shopping hours it debuted precisely because it wanted to help specific shoppers out during the pandemic. We’ve got all the details below, meanwhile, about the new store openings — specifically, where they’re coming, and when.
New Costco store locations opening
You can keep up to date with new Costco store announcements right here, at the membership club’s “New Locations Coming Soon” page. The various locations, including some outside of the US, are as follows:
- St. Augustine, Florida — August 2022
- College Station, Texas — August 2022
- Murrieta, California — August 2022
- Verona, Wisconsin — August 2022
- Auckland, New Zealand — August 2022
- Gimhae, South Korea — August 2022
- Queen Creek, Arizona — October 2022
- Lake Stevens, Washington — October 2022
- Gocheok, South Korea — October 2022
- Athens, Georgia — November 2022
- University City, Missouri — November 2022
- Ankeny, Iowa — November 2022
- Redding, California — November 2022
- Logan, Utah — November 2022
- Liberty Township, Ohio — November 2022
Those new international store sites are a reflection of the fact that Costco has millions of paying members around the world. New stores, of course, serve that base and help bring in new paying members, too. And about that membership, in particular its price, you might be wondering what’s required for someone to be able to take advantage of all those hard-to-pass-up deals.
How much is a membership at Costco?
A “Gold Star” membership, which allows you to shop online and in Costco store warehouses, costs just $60 annually. It also includes two membership cards. If you don’t mind paying a little more, though, there’s also an “Executive”-level membership tier that costs $120 a year. Its perks include a 2 percent annual reward, plus Costco services discounts. As well as two membership cards, and the ability to shop online and in Costco store warehouses, among other benefits.
You can read more about the membership offerings here.
Among the attractions of the membership are all the deals that you can’t get anywhere else. And those deals are one reason business at the chain is surging right now. Last Thursday, Costco said that same-store sales in June, minus fuel sales, climbed 13 percent.
“Costco is the dominant leader in the attractive warehouse club channel,” Jefferies analyst Corey Tarlowe wrote in a research note to clients.
“We see prospects for the company to deliver comparable sales 1-2 percentage above historical levels based on: 1) channel shift from traditional grocery, department stores, and specialty retail; 2) higher growth among Gen Y/Z demos w/ stronger skew toward club offerings; and 3) bigger baskets as customers increasingly shop categories beyond food.”
