As the economy struggles and many Americans look for ways to save money, Costco has proven resilient. The chain has continued to grow its membership and retain nearly 90% of its members worldwide. That shift may signal a broader change in how middle-class shoppers are spending.
"Costco's jump in March 2026 sales isn't just about cheap hot dogs. It's proof that the middle class is retreating from the 'convenience' of the corner store and moving into saving at the warehouse," RTMNexus CEO and TheStreet Advisor Dominick Miserandino shared with TheStreet. "At Q2 end, we had 40.4 million paid executive memberships, up 9.5% versus last year.
We ended the quarter with 82.1 million total paid members, up 4.8% versus last year and 147.2 million cardholders, up 4.7% year-over-year," CFO Gary Millerchip said during the warehouse club's second-quarter earnings call. He also shared the company's retention rate. "In terms of renewal rates, at Q2 end, our U.S. and Canada renewal rate was 92.1%, down 10 basis points from last quarter; and the worldwide rate came in at 89.7%, unchanged from last quarter," he added.
These numbers come despite the company raising its membership rates in Sept. 2024 by $5 to $65 for Gold membership and by $10 to $130 for an Executive membership. The increase, however, may have actually helped the brand. "Over the past two years, Costco has made several moves that risked upsetting its famously loyal customer base – including raising membership fees in September 2024 and restricting food court access to members only.
But visit data suggests that, rather than deterring shoppers, these changes have supported rising engagement and a broadening customer base," according to Placer.ai. Placer.ai's data show that the membership price hike may have had an unintended impact. "By raising the 'cost of commitment,' Costco may be discouraging casual or opportunistic users while deepening engagement among shoppers who do the math and shop more frequently to justify the fee," the data firm wrote.
Costco has continued to see customers spend more money when visiting its warehouse club. "Worldwide, the average transaction was up 7.8%, which includes the impacts from gas inflation and FX. Excluding gas inflation and FX, average transaction was up 4.6%," Director of Financial Planning and Investor Relations Andrew Yoon said in prepared remarks the chain released about its March sales.
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