Costco Executive members notice major early shopping problem

When Costco announced earlier this year that it would reintroduce early shopping hours for Executive members, reactions were mixed. 

Some retail experts and members applauded Costco for rewarding Executive members with extra perks. Others were quick to point out that Costco’s policy was elitist, and that treating regular Gold Star members like second-class citizens would only hurt the company’s business model.

Costco employees also took to the internet to complain about the burden early opening hours would put on them. 

"We barely make open as is," one employee complained in a Reddit thread.

"I’m in at 4 a.m.,” wrote another. “This will suck for us stockers and forklift drivers having to be in at 3 a.m. Means I’ll have to be up at 1-1:30 to be at work on time."

A strategic move for Costco, despite the backlash

Costco, unlike most retailers, gets a large chunk of its revenue from membership fees. So it can’t afford to lose members. 

On the other hand, if Costco is able to convert more Gold Star members to Executive members, it could boost revenue in a serious way. So it makes sense for Costco to sweeten the deal for members at the higher tier.

Related: Costco offers its weirdest membership promotion ever

And implementing early shopping hours isn’t the company’s only strategy. Costco recently added an incentive for Executive members who order same-day grocery delivery – $10 off any order of $150 or more. That’s a monthly $10 credit that renews automatically.

While some might argue that opening the store early only for select members isn’t the best idea on Costco’s part, the company isn’t wrong to reward shoppers who join at the Executive level.

"The earlier hours add another benefit to the Executive tier of the membership program. Yes, it may cause a little confusion (and even resentment) but it may also encourage some people to trade up to a higher tier,” said Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData’s retail division, in a RetailWire discussion.

Plus, as Saunders pointed out, “It’s not as if other tiers lose anything as the opening hours will remain the same as they are now.”

Early shopping hours come with major drawback for Executive members

As nice as it may be to shop while the store is emptier, Executive members are noticing that getting to Costco as soon as it opens has some disadvantages. 

For one thing, customers who arrive early may be long gone before Costco’s famous free samples come out. But perhaps an even greater annoyance is the fact that shopping early could lead to a longer wait at the checkout aisles.

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Recently, Costco Executive members in Central New Jersey noted that when they went to check out during the store’s early shopping hours, there were only two or three registers open – whereas normally there would be at least twice that many available.

“This is the second time I’ve seen this,” said Barbara K., who’s been a Costco Executive member for more than 10 years. “What’s the point of being able to shop early if I have to wait in a longer line?”

Other Executive members expressed similar frustration over having to wait longer to pay for their purchases. 

If Costco is going to continue offering early shopping hours as an Executive member perk, it needs to step up and make sure its stores are adequately staffed. Otherwise, it largely negates the benefit of being able to get in the door ahead of regular members. 

Maurie Backman owns shares of Costco.

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