Costco’s model is simple to describe and hard to copy. Charge a modest annual fee, keep price gaps wide versus competitors, sell a curated set of items that turn fast, and reward the most engaged households.
This guide brings together the freshest company disclosures and the best available panel reads to map the who, what, where, and why behind Costco shoppers in 2025.
Short sections, clear metrics, and compact tables make it easy to scan or lift into your report.
Costco by the numbers in 2025
- Scale: Costco ended Q3 FY 2025 with 905 warehouses across 14 markets. A visible project pipeline points to 914 by FY 2025 year end. The average warehouse is about 147,000 square feet, and total operating floor space exceeded 130.9M square feet at FY 2024 year end. Gas stations numbered 719 at FY 2024 year end and gasoline represented about 12% of FY 2024 net sales.
- Loyalty: Q3 FY 2025 ended with 79.6M paid memberships and 142.8M total cardholders. Renewal remained elite at 92.7% for United States and Canada and 90.2% worldwide. Executive memberships reached 37.6M and drove 73.1% of sales. Membership fee revenue grew 10.4% year over year in Q3 FY 2025, helped by the $65 base fee and $130 Executive fee introduced in United States and Canada on 2024 09 01.
- Digital: Ecommerce and digitally originated sales now matter. In FY 2024, ecommerce represented about 7% of net sales and digitally originated sales were about 9%. In Q3 FY 2025, ecommerce comparable sales rose 14.8%, site traffic rose 20%, and average order value rose 3%. Payment flexibility expanded through Affirm.
- Policy updates that affect shoppers: Beginning 2025 09 01, Executive members receive exclusive early access in the first hour of most shopping days at many warehouses in United States. For non Executive members this means regular opening times. The change followed a soft launch and then full enforcement after a grace period.
Quick reference tables
Company scale and digital
| KPI | Value | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Warehouses Q3 FY 2025 | 905 | Global |
| FY 2025 estimated by year end | 914 | From pipeline at Q3 |
| United States warehouses FY 2024 year end | 614 | Footprint anchor |
| Average warehouse size | 147,000 sq ft | Box size |
| Gas stations FY 2024 year end | 719 | Ancillary |
| Gasoline share FY 2024 | 12% of net sales | Traffic driver |
| Ecommerce share FY 2024 | 7% of net sales | Mix |
| Digitally originated share FY 2024 | 9% of net sales | Includes same day and travel |
| Ecommerce comps Q3 FY 2025 | 14.8% | Momentum |
Membership and loyalty
| KPI | Value | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Paid memberships | 79.6M | Q3 FY 2025 |
| Total cardholders | 142.8M | Q3 FY 2025 |
| Executive memberships | 37.6M | Q3 FY 2025 |
| Sales penetration to Executive | 73.1% | Q3 FY 2025 |
| Renewal United States and Canada | 92.7% | Q3 FY 2025 |
| Renewal worldwide | 90.2% | Q3 FY 2025 |
| Base fee United States and Canada | $65 | From 2024 09 01 |
| Executive fee United States and Canada | $130 | From 2024 09 01 |
The shopper portrait
The core Costco household skews middle to high income, older cohorts, family oriented, and highly loyal. Several independent panels and media syntheses point to a consistent profile.
- Age and gender: A clear majority of members are Gen X and Baby Boomer households. Primary shoppers are often women. Reported mixes vary by source and time frame, but Gen X plus Boomer share often lands near 66%, and women near 72% in United States panels.
- Income tiers: Costco attracts a higher income mix. Roughly 36% of shoppers report household income above $125,000, and about 46% land between $40,000 and $125,000. That tilt aligns with the membership requirement and the bulk pack value proposition.
- Race and ethnicity: Panels consistently show a strong share of white shoppers and an over index among Asian identifying households. The latter group is reported to be almost 2 times as likely to shop Costco compared with an average retail brand.
- Urbanicity: Costco over indexes in city and suburban areas. Rival clubs lean more rural on a relative basis.
Shopper snapshot United States
| Attribute | Typical reading |
|---|---|
| Women share | About 72% |
| Gen X plus Boomers | About 66% |
| Income above $125,000 | About 36% |
| Income $40,000 to $125,000 | About 46% |
| White self identified | About 61% |
| Asian identifying | Over index |
| Urbanicity | City and suburban skew |
Takeaway
The warehouse club mission rewards planned stock ups and consolidation of spend. That fits higher income families who can buy in larger pack sizes, keep a pantry, and value durable goods deals alongside groceries.
It also fits value seeking middle income families who trade time for savings, lean harder into Kirkland Signature, and optimize large pack unit costs.
Trip behavior and wallet share
- Trip frequency: Numerator based reads suggest a typical Costco member makes about 32 trips per year in United States. That is a frequency pattern closer to a primary grocery relationship than a pure occasional hardlines trip.
- Spend: The same sources place average spend per trip around $100 to $150, with annual household spend around $3,000. That spend per trip aligns with the stock up mission and fewer total trips than a weekly supermarket run.
- Wallet share: Costco households allocate a larger share of retail spend to warehouse clubs than the average United States shopper. Estimates land near 1 out of 8 retail dollars for Costco households which is around 65% higher than the broad United States average.
Why frequency and spend stay high
- Executive reward at 2% up to $1,250 encourages consolidation across categories and seasons
- Treasure hunt and seasonal rotation spur incremental item discovery
- Ancillary businesses such as pharmacy, optical, tire, and fuel add more reasons to visit
- High trust private label through Kirkland Signature keeps value perception strong in both food and non food
Digital patterns that matter
Costco does not chase digital for its own sake. It adds digital where it makes a Costco sized difference.
- Share and momentum: FY 2024 ecommerce share was about 7%, and digitally originated share was about 9%. Q3 FY 2025 delivered 14.8% ecommerce comps with 20% site traffic growth and 3% average order value growth. Digital remains a material growth layer on top of a store first model.
What digital means for the shopper
- Extended aisle for items better shipped to home such as large hardlines
- Same day grocery that saves time during high frequency weeks
- Business delivery for small business missions
- Travel that monetizes loyalty outside the warehouse
- More flexible payments through Affirm that may expand baskets in select categories
Why digital helps the model
Digital expands occasions while the fee model and low markup discipline keep price trust intact. Blending store first discovery with ship to home convenience raises annual retention probability without chasing profitless volume.
The role of ancillary businesses
Ancillary lines drive frequency and compress the payback period on membership fees.
- Fuel: Fuel alone was about 12% of FY 2024 net sales. Price credibility at the pump is a powerful trust builder and a visit engine.
- Pharmacy, optical, hearing, tire, food court: These services add reasons to visit and unique value layers that mass merchants cannot fully replicate. Services also serve as an on ramp for prospective households who observe consistent value during visits with friends or family.
Basket anatomy and category roles
A Costco basket spans staples and surprises.
- Core food and sundries: Paper, cleaning, beverages, snacks, pantry, and personal care repeat frequently. Multipack unit economics matter and price gaps are visible.
- Fresh: Meat, produce, bakery, and service deli build share of stomach and weekly relevance.
- Hardlines: Seasonal, small and major appliances, housewares, tools, and electronics build ticket and delight. These categories shine around holidays and seasonal refresh windows.
- Kirkland Signature: Kirkland positions Costco as a reliable quality at value destination across food and non food. The brand allows Costco to set precise quality specifications, create line logic across categories, and sustain low markup discipline while widening the perceived gap to branded prices.
Geographic footprint and expansion
The box is large and simple to run once scaled. Average size is about 147,000 square feet. Doors are controlled, labor productivity is high, inventory turns are fast, and shrink is low. Costco uses a measured cadence of openings in United States, Canada, and International markets.
Recent pace
From FY 2024 year end 890 to Q3 FY 2025 905. The company expects 914 by FY 2025 year end with notable adds in United States and selective international markets.
What the footprint implies for shoppers
- Drive time improves slowly but steadily as new warehouses fill gaps
- Assortment relevance rises as Costco learns local preferences and tailors ancillary services
- Regional supply chain gains efficiency with each added dot on the map
Traffic trends and competitive context
Location analytics through 2024 and 2025 show warehouse clubs gaining visits faster than many superstores. Costco’s visits were up low to mid single digits in multiple recent quarters while Target and Walmart experienced more mixed trends. Peaks around March and April coincided with tariff headlines and Easter timing which likely pulled forward some pantry and household stock ups.
Why clubs outperformed
- Value clarity when prices rise elsewhere
- Private label strength during inflation cycles
- Trip consolidation that saves both time and fuel
- New unit openings that add incremental visits and build awareness
How Costco compares to Sam’s Club
Panels show Costco members visiting more often and spending roughly 2X annually versus Sam’s members. Costco skews wealthier and more urban. Sam’s leans more rural and slightly older. Both clubs grew traffic in 2025, with localized swings based on openings and regional economics.
Membership economics explained simply
The Costco engine turns on three connected gears.
Gear 1 membership fee
The fee is a recurring stream. The $65 base fee and $130 Executive fee in United States and Canada are modest relative to potential savings. Fee income grew 10.4% year over year in Q3 FY 2025. Renewal rates above 90% indicate that members believe they get value.
Gear 2 low markup model
Gross margin percentage is structurally low because membership pays the freight. That enables visible gaps on staples, credible deals on hardlines, and a generally fair price feeling. The result is frequency plus average ticket.
Gear 3 Executive upgrade
Executive adds a 2% reward up to $1,250 per year. That carrot concentrates spend at Costco. Executive members represented 47.3% of paid members in Q3 FY 2025 yet accounted for 73.1% of sales. When more households move into Executive, renewal typically rises and lifetime value expands.
Result
High renewal lifts the base, which funds low markups, which widens price gaps, which drives frequency and ticket, which grows the reward, which nudges more Executive upgrades. The flywheel is old fashioned retail discipline powered by a fee.
The 2025 policy shift on shopping hours
In 2025 06 Costco began a limited early access hour for Executive members at select warehouses and moved to broader enforcement on 2025 09 01. The perk adds a quieter first hour for higher tier members.
Warehouse schedules still vary by market, and local pages list exact hours. This policy attempts to reward the households that drive the majority of sales without changing the value equation for base members.
What this means for shopper segments
- Executive households gain time utility and reduced crowding which can boost basket and category exploration
- Base households continue to see trusted value at regular hours and retain upgrade optionality if the perk matters enough
- Operationally the perk may smooth demand by pulling some trips earlier and may improve service experiences in pharmacy, optical, and member services during the first hour
Practical insights for marketers and merchandisers
Audience strategy
- Focus on family oriented Gen X and Boomer households with middle to high income
- Tailor creative and community outreach for Asian identifying communities in high index markets
- Use city and suburban media weight where Costco over indexes
Occasion strategy
- Anchor on pantry and paper stock up to drive repeat
- Stack seasonal hardlines and home refresh stories to grow ticket
- Use travel and large appliances to lift Executive upgrades
Offer and channel strategy
- Reinforce Executive value with simple reward math and examples that cross food and non food
- Use digitally originated offers to pull forward trips and to capture bulky ship to home orders
- Feature Kirkland as an everyday trade down that avoids quality compromise
Common questions about Costco shoppers
How often do members shop?
About 30 to 35 trips per year in United States panel reads, with household annual spend around $3,000.
What is the biggest driver of renewal?
Consistency of value on staples and the cumulative effect of ancillary services. Executive upgrades correlate with higher renewal because the 2% reward only pays when members consolidate spend.
How meaningful is digital?
Digital is still a smaller share but often grows double digits. The most powerful effect is when digital adds occasions that are incremental to a store first habit.
Do wealthier households still care about price gaps?
Yes. High income households are heavy users of Kirkland, and they often comparison shop for large hardlines and travel. Trust in quality and time saving also matter.
Methodology notes and caveats
- Company figures for membership counts, renewal, Executive penetration, store counts, pipeline, ecommerce comps, and policy updates come from investor releases, slide decks, and the annual report or related SEC filings
- Shopper demographics, trip frequency, trip spend, wallet share, and urbanicity rely on large consumer panels such as Numerator that are summarized by reputable outlets. These are estimates from samples and should be read for direction and magnitude rather than as perfect census values
- Location analytics come from Placer.ai and related trade coverage. Visit tallies are not point of sale and can diverge from sales based on ticket mix and conversion changes
- Policy coverage of early access hours cites mainstream outlets that confirmed timing with Costco. Local execution can vary and members should check warehouse pages for exact hours
Appendix: ready to reuse tables
A scale and digital quickboard
| KPI | Value |
|---|---|
| Warehouses FY 2024 year end | 890 |
| Warehouses Q3 FY 2025 | 905 |
| FY 2025 estimate by year end | 914 |
| Average box size | 147,000 sq ft |
| Gas stations FY 2024 year end | 719 |
| Gasoline share FY 2024 | 12% |
| Ecommerce share FY 2024 | 7% |
| Digitally originated share FY 2024 | 9% |
| Ecommerce comps Q3 FY 2025 | 14.8% |
B membership and loyalty quickboard
| KPI | Value |
|---|---|
| Paid memberships | 79.6M |
| Total cardholders | 142.8M |
| Executive memberships | 37.6M |
| Executive sales penetration | 73.1% |
| Renewal United States and Canada | 92.7% |
| Renewal worldwide | 90.2% |
| Base fee United States and Canada | $65 |
| Executive fee United States and Canada | $130 |
C shopper profile quickboard United States
| Dimension | Directional reading |
|---|---|
| Gender | Women near 72% |
| Age | Gen X plus Boomers near 66% |
| Income | Above $125,000 about 36% |
| Income $40,000 to $125,000 about 46% | |
| Race and ethnicity | White near 61%, Asian identifying over index |
| Urbanicity | City and suburban skew |
Bottom line
Costco’s customer base is loyal, affluent leaning, and frequency heavy, with clear momentum in digital and a steady pipeline of new warehouses. The membership engine remains the center. Renewal above 90% and Executive sales penetration above 70% show why the model compounds.
For search and strategy work, prioritize membership economics, Kirkland’s role in value perception, trip frequency with high average ticket, and the growing but disciplined digital channel.
Those four themes explain why Costco keeps adding households and why those households keep coming back.
Sources
- Costco Q3 FY 2025 press release
https://investor.costco.com/news/news-details/2025/Costco-Wholesale-Corporation-Reports-Third-Quarter-and-Year-To-Date-Operating-Results-for-Fiscal-2025/default.aspx - Costco Q3 FY 2025 supplemental presentation PDF
https://s201.q4cdn.com/287523651/files/doc_presentations/2025/May/29/Q3-FY-25-Earnings-Supplement.pdf - Costco FY 2024 annual report PDF
https://s201.q4cdn.com/287523651/files/doc_financials/2024/ar/COST-2024-Annual-Report.pdf - SEC FY 2024 Form 10 K HTML mirror for digital mix and gasoline share
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/909832/000090983224000049/cost-20240901.htm - Costco membership fee change announcement
https://investor.costco.com/news/news-details/2024/Costco-Wholesale-Corporation-Reports-June-Sales-Results-and-Announces-Quarterly-Cash-Dividend-and-Plans-for-Membership-Fee-Increase/default.aspx - Costco customer service page on fee increase and new fee levels
https://customerservice.costco.com/app/answers/answer_view/a_id/1013504/~/membership-fee-increase - Investopedia profile of the typical Costco customer with demographic and spend stats
https://www.investopedia.com/average-costco-customer-8731440 - Business Insider comparison of Costco and Sam’s Club shoppers with Numerator data
https://www.businessinsider.com/how-costco-sams-club-shoppers-differ-income-spending-habits-2025-3 - Digital Commerce 360 coverage of Q3 FY 2025 ecommerce metrics
https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/article/costco-ecommerce-sales - Placer.ai analysis of wholesale clubs in Q1 2025
https://www.placer.ai/anchor/articles/wholesale-clubs-find-success-in-q1-2025 - Placer.ai deep dive on Costco in 2024
https://www.placer.ai/anchor/articles/costco-in-2024-a-deep-dive - Good Morning America overview of Executive early access hours with confirmation from Costco
https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/living/story/new-costco-hours-executive-membership-125155654 - CTInsider coverage of new hours and early access window
https://www.ctinsider.com/business/article/costco-hours-change-connecticut-locations-21025370.php - People magazine explainer on early access enforcement
https://people.com/costco-new-executive-member-policy-officially-starting-what-to-know-11801025 - FOX Business explainer on new hours and what it means for members
https://www.foxbusiness.com/lifestyle/new-costco-hours-take-effect-what-means-members - Nasdaq and Zacks roundups of Q3 FY 2025 membership and renewal metrics
https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/costco-q3-earnings-beat-estimates-e-commerce-comp-sales-rise
https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/2503160/whats-behind-costcos-10-jump-in-membership-fee-income - Seeking Alpha transcript line cites for membership counts and Executive penetration
https://seekingalpha.com/article/4791062-costco-wholesale-corporation-cost-q3-2025-earnings-call-transcript - Investing dot com slide recap with membership and Executive figures
https://www.investing.com/news/company-news/costco-q3-fy2025-slides-sales-up-8-ecommerce-surges-148-93CH-4071567 - MarketWatch on warehouse club traffic swing around March 2025
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/warehouse-club-foot-traffic-jumped-nearly-10-in-the-week-before-liberation-day-tariffs-but-signals-are-mixed-1c7dcdf1 - Chain Store Age summary of Placer.ai traffic gains for clubs
https://chainstoreage.com/placerai-wholesale-clubs-see-visits-rise-start-2025
