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Costco Wholesale upholds comp-sales momentum in March

Growth stays at double digits after cycling pandemic-driven gains a year ago

Russell Redman

April 8, 2021

2 Min Read
Costco_warehouse_club-banner_0.png
Costco's comparable-club sales rose 16% overall and 13.9% in the U.S. for the five-week March selling period.Costco

A year after COVID-19 was declared a national emergency, Costco Wholesale posted double-digit sales gains for March, despite declines in grocery and sundries categories.

For the five weeks ended April 4, net sales climbed 17.6% to $18.21 billion from $15.49 billion a year earlier, Issaquah, Wash.-based Costco reported after yesterday’s market close.

In the year-to-date period, covering 31 weeks, net sales totaled $111.37 billion, up 15.7% from $96.25 billion a year ago.

Comparable-club sales in the March selling period rose 16% overall and were up 11.1% excluding the impact of changes in fuel prices and foreign exchange (FX) rates. By business unit, comp sales advanced 13.9% in the United States (11.3% excluding fuel and FX), 28.3% in Canada (13% excluding fuel and FX) and 16.4% internationally (7.7% excluding fuel and FX). E-commerce sales surged 57.7% on a comparable basis (54.5% excluding FX).

In its U.S. clubs, Costco maintained double-digit comp sales growth from March 2020, which covered a chunk of the consumer panic-buying period of the pandemic, when members loaded up on food and groceries and other essential supplies. The retailer’s U.S. comp sales increased 10.7% (12.1% excluding fuel and FX) for the five weeks ended April 5, 2020.

Related:Costco posts 13% comp-sales gain in second quarter

“Our comp traffic, or frequency, for March was up 3.3% worldwide and up 3% in the U.S.,” David Sherwood, assistant vice president of finance and investor relations at Costco, said in a conference call late Wednesday. “This year’s five-week retail month of March had one fewer shopping day versus last year due to the calendar shift of Easter. This negatively impacted total and comparable sales, as well as traffic, by approximately 1.5% to 2%. Worldwide, the average transaction was up 12.3%, which included positive impacts of 220 basis points from gasoline inflation and 270 basis points from FX.”

U.S. regions seeing the strongest sales increases in March were the Southeast, Texas and Midwest, while internationally Japan, Korea and the United Kingdom turned in the top performances, according to Sherwood.

In core merchandise categories, comp-sales results exclude the positive impact of FX and “reflect significant impact from the onset of COVID a year ago,” he noted. “Food and sundries were negative high single digits. Fresh foods were up mid-single digits; better-performing departments included service deli and bakery. Nonfoods were positive in the mid-50s; better-performing departments included sporting goods, garden, toys and seasonal, jewelry, home furnishings and domestics. As their businesses were up mid-30s, gasoline, hearing aids and optical were the primary drivers.”

Related:Costco under way with limited test of grocery curbside pickup

Costco finished the period with 807 warehouse clubs overall, compared with 787 a year earlier. By market, the retailer operates 559 clubs in the U.S. (including Puerto Rico), 104 in Canada, 39 in Mexico, 29 in the United Kingdom, 28 in Japan, 16 in Korea, 14 in Taiwan, 12 in Australia, three in Spain and one each in Iceland, France and China. Costco also has e-commerce sites in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Mexico, Korea, Taiwan, Japan and Australia.

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About the Author

Russell Redman

Senior Editor
Supermarket News

Russell Redman has served as senior editor at Supermarket News since April 2018, his second tour with the publication. In his current role, he handles daily news coverage for the SN website and contributes news and features for the print magazine, as well as participates in special projects, podcasts and webinars and attends industry events. Russ joined SN from Racher Press Inc.’s Chain Drug Review and Mass Market Retailers magazines, where he served as desk/online editor for more than nine years, covering the food/drug/mass retail sector. 

Russell Redman’s more than 30 years of experience in journalism span a range of editorial manager, editor, reporter/writer and digital roles at a variety of publications and websites covering a breadth of industries, including retailing, pharmacy/health care, IT, digital home, financial technology, financial services, real estate/commercial property, pro audio/video and film. He started his career in 1989 as a local news reporter and editor, covering community news and politics in Long Island, N.Y. His background also includes an earlier stint at Supermarket News as center store editor and then financial editor in the mid-1990s. Russ holds a B.A. in journalism (minor in political science) from Hofstra University, where he also earned a certificate in digital/social media marketing in November 2016.

Russell Redman’s experience:

Supermarket News - Informa
Senior Editor 
April 2018 - present

Chain Drug Review/Mass Market Retailers - Racher Press
Desk/Online Editor 
Sept. 2008 - March 2018

CRN magazine - CMP Media
Managing Editor
May 2000 - June 2007

Bank Systems & Technology - Miller Freeman
Executive Editor/Managing Editor
Dec. 1996 - May 2000

Supermarket News - Fairchild Publications
Financial Editor/Associate Editor
April 1995 - Dec. 1996 

Shopping Centers Today Magazine - ICSC 
Desk Editor/Assistant Editor
Dec. 1992 - April 1995

Testa Communications
Assistant Editor/Contributing Editor (Music & Sound Retailer, Post, Producer, Sound & Communications and DJ Times magazines)
Jan. 1991 - Dec. 1992 

American Banker/Bond Buyer
Copy Editor
Oct. 1990 - Jan. 1991 

This Week newspaper - Chanry Communications
Reporter/Editor
May 1989 - July 1990

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