Costco leads superstores in foot traffic growth, report finds

Dive Brief:

Foot traffic at Costco Wholesale locations rose nearly 5% in July compared with the same period a year ago even as rival club retailers saw monthly visits decline last month, according to data published Wednesday by Placer.ai.
BJ’s Wholesale Club recorded a 3% decline in visits during July, while foot traffic at Sam’s Club was off by 1%, Placer.ai found.
Costco’s strength suggest that the retailer is benefiting from the fact that its customers tend to have a higher median income than consumers who shop at competing membership retailers, according to Placer.ai’s analysis.

Dive Insight:

Costco’s 4.6% monthly growth in foot traffic in July builds on a 3.6% gain in June, underscoring the success the retailer has had in attracting shoppers navigating uncertain economic conditions.

The decline in foot traffic at Walmart-owned Sam’s Club in July followed a 0.1% gain in June. Meanwhile, the drop in visits to BJ’s locations last month extended a 2.6 decline in June, according to the data analysis firm, which uses mobile phone data to detect foot traffic at retail sites.

Costco has also recently outperformed Walmart and Target in terms of foot traffic, Placer.ai reported. Visits to Walmart dropped 0.4% year-over-year in July while Target’s foot traffic slipped 1% during the month by the same measure.

Monthly foot traffic patterns at all of the retailers Placer.ai included in the report indicate that shoppers may be becoming more confident as inflation continues to wane following the record high price increases that defined 2022. Sam’s Club, BJ’s, Target and Walmart saw foot traffic drop more rapidly year-over-year in May than they did in July, and foot traffic was down at Costco that month ahead of the increases the retailer posted in June and July, Placer.ai said.

Placer.ai noted that membership clubs appear to have held onto the momentum they built during the pandemic. Foot traffic at Costco was up 12.5% in July compared to the same month in 2019, while visits to Sam’s Club and BJ’s grew 8.5% and 6.7% last month when viewed through that lens.

By comparison, foot traffic at Walmart was 5% lower in July than it was during the month that it was in July 2019, Placer.ai said.