Until recently, Costco didn’t have to worry too much about Amazon, but then the online retail giant began to figure out how to sell and ship the fresh groceries and pantry items that make up Costco’s core business. In an attempt to keep itself from going the way of so many other bricks-and-mortar stores, the warehouse club is grabbing a jumbo-size battle hammer and jumping into the grocery delivery fray. [More]
costco
Costco Has Actually Been Selling Survivalist Food Packs For Years
By 10.5.17
With natural disasters across North America in the news lately, it’s understandable that you might be thinking about ways to prepare your family for a disaster in your area. A great place to start turns out to be Costco, which sells a surprising variety of dehydrated food kits that can keep four people fed for a year, or 192 people for a week. [More]
Whole Foods Poaching New Customers From Trader Joe’s, Costco, Walmart
By 10.3.17
We know that more people visited upscale grocery chain Whole Foods in the weeks after it became part of Amazon’s growing online and offline retail empire, but where did those people come from? Customer data shows that new visitors to Whole Foods stores were likely to be the wealthiest customers from competitors like Walmart, Costco, and Trader Joe’s. [More]
Costco Creates A Nightmare Before Christmas In This Seasonal Display
By 9.12.17
It’s the first half of September, which means that it’s time to celebrate our favorite holiday. No, not Halloween or Thanksgiving: The best holiday of all is Christmas/Halloween Mashup, as the classic animated film The Nightmare Before Christmas taught us all. The demands of seasonal displays mean that Nightmares Before Christmas also appear in the real world. Sometimes it’s even done well. [More]
Chicken Skewers Sold At Costco Recalled Over Listeria Concerns
By 8.24.17
If your dinner plans include enjoying those chicken skewers you grabbed at Costco, you might want to go with plan B: More than 20,000 pounds of chicken skewers have been recalled over listeria contamination concerns. [More]
Costco To Pay $19.4M To Tiffany & Co. For Selling Bogus ‘Tiffany’ Rings
By 8.15.17
Costco learned a very expensive lesson this week: A “Tiffany” ring is a specific product sold by a specific company; not just a generic name for any diamond engagement ring. Now the warehouse retailer must pay Tiffany & Company $19.4 million for marketing and selling “Tiffany” diamond rings that had nothing to do with the famed jewelry store. [More]
Costco Launches Program To Screen Products For Troublesome Chemicals
By 6.15.17
The products dotting Costco shelves could soon be changing if manufacturers don’t ditch certain ingredients, as the warehouse store steps up its scrutiny of chemicals in products. [More]
Jet To Stop Selling Costco’s Kirkland Signature Products
By 6.13.17
If you like Costco’s Kirkland Signature line of store-brand products — encompassing everything from laundry detergent to vodka — but aren’t a Costco member, you’ve had the option of buying some Kirkland items online at Jet.com. But now that Walmart owns Jet, those Kirkland items will be going away. [More]
Costco Is Thriving Because People Still Don’t Buy Their Toilet Paper Or Steak On Amazon
By 5.25.17
As retailer after retailer closes up shop, and big box stores like Target and Walmart put increased focus on e-commerce, Costco continues to not only stay open, but to grow, despite having virtually no online retail presence. Why? Because people aren’t yet turning to Amazon to fill up their kitchens, bathrooms, and laundry rooms. [More]
Sam’s Club Launches Store-Brand Wines To Compete With Costco
By 4.20.17
With Costco’s Kirkland Signature brand of booze recently accounting for an uptick in sales at the warehouse club, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that the retailer’s rival Sam’s Club would look to get a piece of that pie by launching its own house brand wines. [More]
Some Costco Shoppers Can Now Get Groceries Delivered
By 3.22.17
To some Costco customers, part of the experience of being a member of the warehouse club is going to the store, filling your huge cart up with everything from slabs of steak to blue jeans (and maybe nibbling on some free samples). But surely some shoppers just want the Costco products without having to actually go to Costco. [More]
Costco, Titleist Go To War Over Golf Balls
By 3.20.17
It’s no secret that golfers like Costco’s new, relatively affordable golf balls, but the folks at Titleist — whose balls sell for several times what Costco charges — have informally accused the warehouse retailer of both patent infringement and false advertising. [More]
Costco Gives Shopper New Pants After Phone Catches Fire In Pocket
By 3.17.17
It must be terrifying and possibly humiliating to have your phone suddenly start smoking and catch fire in your pocket, causing you to ditch your pants in the middle of a store. At least one Costco shopper in Washington got a free pair of pants out of the ordeal. [More]
Costco’s Bottom Line Gets A Boon From Store-Brand Booze
By 3.16.17
When times are tough, it’s generally a very bad idea to seek out hope in a bottle, but don’t tell that to Costco. Brisk sales of the warehouse club’s store-brand liquor and wine are helping make up for Costco’s lower-than-expected retail receipts. [More]
Costco Raising Membership Fees Starting In June
By 3.3.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
As predicted earlier this year, it was about time for Costco to do it’s once-every-five-years-or-so price increase on membership fees, and we were right. The warehouse club has confirmed a 10% cost increase for most of its members. [More]
Wegmans Changes Price-Comparison Signs After Costco Complaint
By 2.27.17
Price-comparison ads at Wegmans will soon be getting a bit of a makeover following an ad watchdog’s suggestion that the grocer modify in-store displays in response to a Costco complaint that the low-cost price comparisons were misleading and false. [More]
Shrimp Farming Forced Labor Lawsuit Against Costco Dismissed
By 1.26.17
A few years ago, consumers around the world were horrified to learn that seafood they ate was the product of forced labor in Asia. They responded in the American way, by filing class actions against the retailers they believed had misled them. Now a prominent lawsuit against warehouse club Costco over its shrimp has been dismissed. [More]
Golfers Rejoice: Costco’s Coveted Golf Balls Are Coming Back
By 1.26.17 — Updated: 3.16.17
In the last few months, golfers have been losing their minds over the greatness of Costco’s new Kirkland Signature golf balls, buying up as many as they could and even flipping them on eBay for twice the retail price. The balls were a limited item, and seemed to be gone forever. They won’t be. [More]
