Costco Expected To Raise Membership Fees By 10% Sometime In The Next Year

Image courtesy of Mike Mozart

The cost of a yearly Costco membership could be going up in the near future: according to analysts at UBS, the retailer is probably going to raise prices by 10% by late this year or early 2017.

Annual fees will go from $55 to $60 for a basic membership and from $110 to $120 for its executive membership, analysts said in a research note following a meeting with top Costco executives, reports Business Insider.

“If its comp were to dramatically slow in the meantime or if there were some major macro disruption, it might delay this increase,” analysts wrote. “But, it sounds like that’s not likely.”

This shouldn’t be a totally huge surprise to Costco members, as the warehouse club usually raises membership fees every five or six years. The last time that happened was in November 2011, so the timing is just about right.

Although Sam’s Club is a cheaper deal at $45 for its basic membership or $100 for the higher tier, our esteemed colleagues at Consumer Reports found that Costco is still slightly preferred by customers.

Costco memberships are about to get more expensive [Business Insider]

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