A customer loads groceries into a pickup truck after shopping at a Costco store on July 11 in Richmond, California.
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Do you crave it? Hot dog and soda combo for $1.50 from Costco? Make sure you have your own membership card.
In the coming months, shoppers will have to start scanning their membership cards at the entrance to Costco warehouses instead of just showing them to store employees, the retail giant said. announced.
The Washington-based company is the latest to clamp down on membership sharing, as businesses look to prevent consumers from accessing friends and family’s premium accounts without paying a membership fee.
Costco members with active memberships will be required to scan their physical or digital card at a machine at the store entrance. Members with non-photo cards will be required to present a valid photo ID and will only be able to enter Costco stores with active memberships.
“If you have any questions or concerns, there will always be someone at the door to assist you!” Costco said in a statement.
Costco isn’t the only company that’s preventing some consumers from getting free rides. Disney recently announced that it will begin blocking Disney+ account owners from sharing their passwords with the streaming service outside of their household.
ONE Similar move by Netflix last year led to an increase in subscribers but may also have damaged the company’s reputation, Fast Company reported.
Costco CEO Richard Galanti told MarketWatch In January, the company aimed to stop non-members from evading fees by using membership cards to shop, an issue that arose after the company introduced self-checkout kiosks.
Galanti said Costco relaxed its enforcement of its rules during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when people asked others to shop for them to avoid going out.
To solve this problem, the company announced that they will begin requiring customers at self-checkout kiosks — in addition to regular checkout lines — to present a membership card and photo identification.
Costco has 128 million members and reported that the company generated $4.6 billion in revenue from membership fees last year.
Costco’s annual membership fee is set to increase starting in September, $60 to $65 for Gold Star members and $120 to $130 for executive members.
