ISSAQUAH, WA - I can remember the time my parents first got a Costco membership card, even the detail of my mother not looking properly into the camera. For those who count themselves among Costco’s members, it’s easy to tout the benefits of being one. As the retailer relayed in its latest earnings call to discuss Q4 2019 results, membership is at an all-time high—denoting how popular shopping with the wholesaler really is.
"In terms of renewal rates, at Q4 end, our U.S. and Canada membership renewal rate came in at 90.9 percent, up 0.2 percent from 90.7 percent as of the end of the last quarter," said CFO Richard Galanti during the call. “And worldwide, the renewal rate was 88.4 percent, up from 88.3 percent a quarter ago, both of these figures all-time highs."
According to Galanti, the company ended its fourth quarter with 20.8 million executive memberships—an uptick of 362,000 over last quarter. Costco also saw increases in the use of its digital membership card, which it debuted in July of this year. Since then, Costco has experienced 2.5 million activations.
While its membership continues to rise, will there be enough storefronts to keep up? Galanti teased the opening of 20 or more units in the next year, so it seems likely there will be more than enough Costcos to go around.
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