Costco’s decision to open warehouses an hour earlier for executive members appears to be paying off.
Foot traffic analysis from Placer.ai shows more shoppers are visiting during the new 9 a.m. slot, shifting activity away from the busier 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. hours in July and August, the first months under the revised schedule.
“People realize they have more time now and potentially don’t need to get everything in that visit,” RJ Hottovy, an analyst at Placer.ai, told Business Insider.
Shorter trips are also becoming more common. Hottovy noted that visits are increasingly lasting 30 to 45 minutes rather than an hour, which in turn drives more frequent returns:
“It does end up driving incremental visits, because people can feel like, ‘Oh, I know. I can get in and out quickly now’”
The extended hours initiative, introduced without additional staffing, is part of CEO Ron Vachris’s push to manage crowding at Costco locations.
Other experiments include a version of “scan and go” technology, where employees pre-scan items in carts using tablets before customers reach the checkout line.
Costco reports earnings Thursday, where executives may reveal whether the new perk has encouraged more Gold Star members to upgrade to Executive memberships, effectively doubling annual fee revenue.
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