Costco Wholesale Corp. reported ecommerce sales growth in its fiscal first quarter ended Nov. 26, 2023. The online retailer’s fiscal Q1 this year included Thanksgiving and Black Friday, but it did not include Cyber Monday.
In total, Costco reported $56.72 billion in Q1 sales. That’s a 6.1% increase from $53.44 billion in the prior fiscal year’s first quarter. Costco’s net income in the quarter was $1.59 million, up from $1.37 million the prior year.
Costco is No. 6 in the Top 1000, Digital Commerce 360’s ranking of the largest North American online retailers.
Costco ecommerce sales and fulfillment in Q1
Although Costco did not provide a dollar amount for its ecommerce sales, it said they increased 6.3% year over year in its fiscal Q1. This marks the first quarterly year-over-year increase in Costco ecommerce sales in five fiscal quarters, said Richard Galanti, chief financial officer, on an earnings call with investors. He added that ecommerce “showed strength in several areas.” Costco did not say how much ecommerce sales were as a percentage of total sales in Q1.
In the food department, online sales of appliances grew in the mid-20s percentage range year over year, Galanti said. E-gift cards, pet items and snack items grew in the mid-teen percentage range. Online sales of TVs grew in the high single digits, he said.
Also in the quarter, traffic and shopping frequency increased 4.7% worldwide and 3.6% in the United States, Galanti said on the call. Costco’s average transaction decreased 0.9% worldwide and 1.6% in the United States, Galanti said.
He also said Costco Logistics completed more than 800,000 deliveries of online orders in Q1. That’s up 17% year over year.
Galanti referred to some products available online from Costco as “wow items.” That includes selling 1-ounce gold bars, which are member-exclusive items. Costco has sold more than $100 million in gold during the quarter, Galanti said.
In other rarities, he said Costco sold a Babe Ruth autographed index baseball card for $20,000. Costco is also selling a Mickey Mantle autographed 1951 rookie card “in nearly perfect condition” for $250,000.
Costco mobile app and website performance
Galanti said Costco did not make any “big enhancements and changes” to its site leading up to the Thanksgiving holiday. However, he said, the mobile site had 100% availability during the Cyber 5 period from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday.
Costco app downloads reached 2.75 million in the quarter, Galanti said. Total Costco app downloads now stand at 30.5 million, he said. That’s a 10% increase in the quarter. It also followed a 40% increase in Costco’s fiscal 2023 compared to the prior year.
Costco site traffic approached 500 million visits in Q1, he said, an increase of “just under 10%.” Average order value also increased 2.5%, Galanti said.
How many members does Costco have?
Costco ended its fiscal Q1 with 72 million paid household members. That’s up 7.6% year over year. The number of cardholders also increased, up 7.1% from last year to 129.5 million.
At the end of Q1, Costco had 33.2 million paid executive members. That’s up by 939,000 since the end of the previous fiscal year, which ended Sept. 3, 2023.
Costco executive members now represent more than 46% of the retailer’s paid members, Galanti said, and more than 73% of Costco worldwide sales. Renewal rates in the United States and Canada were 92.8%, and worldwide, it was 90.5%. Both rates are up 0.1% from the end of Costco’s Q4 2022.
Piece of the Thanksgiving-week pie
Galanti said he received several calls about how many pies Costco sold leading up to Thanksgiving. In the U.S., the mass merchant sold 2.9 million pumpkin pies, as well as more than 1.3 million apple and pecan pies, he said.
And in terms of a slice of the Cyber 5 sales pie, Costco ecommerce grew in the mid-teens year over year, Galanti said.
Along with Amazon.com Inc.’s main website, Costco was the only top holiday retailer to gain traffic share during the Cyber 5, according to a Digital Commerce 360 analysis of Similarweb data. Its share of Cyber 5 traffic among Top 1000 retailers grew modestly to 1.7% in 2023 from 1.6% last year.
How many stores does Costco have?
Costco currently operates 871 warehouses. 600 are in the United States and Puerto Rico, and 108 are in Canada. Internationally, Costco has:
- 40 warehouses in Mexico
- 33 in Japan
- 29 in the United Kingdom
- 18 in South Korea
- 15 in Australia
- 14 in Taiwan
- Five in China
- Four in Spain
- Two in France
- One each in Iceland, New Zealand and Sweden
Furthermore, Costco also operates ecommerce sites in:
- The U.S.
- Canada
- The U.K.
- Mexico
- South Korea
- Taiwan
- Japan
- Australia
Costco earnings
For the fiscal first quarter ended Nov. 26, 2023, Costco reported:
- Net sales increased to $56.72 billion. That’s up 6.1% from $53.44 billion in the prior fiscal year’s first quarter.
- Costco’s net income in the quarter was $1.59 million. That’s up from $1.37 million the prior year.
- Costco ecommerce sales increased 6.3% year over year.
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