ISSAQUAH, WA – This March, Costco Wholesale Corporation made waves when it announced large-scale membership fee increases set to take effect this June. Starting Thursday June 1st, the company will implement a five dollar hike in “primary” members’ annual fees, a ten dollar increase in executive membership fees.
Primary membership fees—including U.S. and Canada Goldstar members and business members—will rise from $55 to $60 and executive membership fees will jump from $110 to $120.
The Star Tribune reports that Costco tends to raise its membership every five or six years, and this latest hike—the first since 2011—is in keeping with that trend. Costco earns approximately $2.6 billion in membership fees each year—almost three-quarters of its operating income, the news source noted.
As we reported this March, fee increases are expected to impact 35 million Costco members—roughly half of the those effected being executive members.
Frugal members can still save on the cost of renewal if they make their payments online or in store by August 1, the Star Tribune reports.
AndNowUKnow will continue to report on this and other developments in retail.
