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Costco is many buyers wholesale store When they want to save money by Buy in bulk . But like many other retailers, the company has struggled in the midst of changing consumer habits in recent years. Now, even if Costco reports an increase in sales of its last quarter, civil servants sound the alarm on the means to withdraw customers from the retailer. Read more to find out why buyers apparently abandon Costco at the moment.

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While other retailers recently reported a drop in sales, Costco has experienced a different trend for its latest financial results. In a September 26 Press release , the company announced that its net sales for the fourth quarter increased 9.4% compared to last year, and its total net sales for the entire year 2023 increased by 6.7% per report to its net sales during the year 2022.

But when you look more closely, Costco's success was less obvious in its American stores. In the fourth quarter, comparable sales increased by 1.1% for total company, but only increased by 0.2% for its American market. And during a profits call on September 26 with investors, those responsible gave more information made investors Worried about Costco buyers, Yahoo Finance reported.

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Consumers do not completely abandon Costco. After all, store traffic increased by 5.2% worldwide and 5% in the United States for the fourth quarter of the 2023 financial year, Costco CFO Richard Galanti confirmed during The call for winnings .

But even if buyers are visiting The retailer stores are more, they also spend less when they do, according to data. Galanti said that the average value of each transaction in Costco was down 3.9% worldwide over the last quarter. And it fell even harder in the United States, 4.5%, added the financial director.

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During the call for results, Galanti said that the drop in transaction spending on the last quarter had been "largely impacted by the weakness of the non -food discretion of larger tickets".

This particularly affected Costco digital sales, which fell 0.8 for the entire year 2023. In the fourth quarter, in particular, online sales of items in the main discretionary categories of large tickets such as That furnishings, small electronics, jewelry and equipment have dropped by 5%. And these categories represent more than half of the retailer's electronic commerce sales, according to Galanti.

Like many retailers, Costco has a hard time bringing buyers to buy more expensive non-endors for some time now, and even discounts do not really push them to move.

"I remember when we talked about a few quarters of a part of the slowness of big tickets a few quarters ago. When we were warmer on the prices, it did a little, but not as much as we would have thought of Start, "admitted Galanti to analysts. "We know that when we put hot purchases and what we call PDS, temporary price discounts, items, even medium -sized tickets, we see the units increase, but it is not as predictable , I would say, as before being. "

Galanti's comments on the rise in prices for Costco members during his recent call for profits also have investors concerned, Yahoo Finance reported. The last time the wholesale retailer increased his membership fees, it was back in 2017, and as hikes generally occur every five years, the financial director admitted that they had waited for a "little time this time "to do it. AE0FCC31AE342FD3A1346EBB1F342FCB

But although it is now six years since Costco has increased its membership costs for the last time, the retailer apparently does not yet have a concrete plan on When He will put the change into force, confirmed Galanti.

"This is a question of knowing when not if ... you know, you will see it happening at some point," he told analysts. "But we cannot really tell you if it is in our plans or not. We will let you know when we know it. We feel good, needless to say, about all the attributes of loyalty and growth Members ... So, you know, stay listening. We will keep you posted. But there is not much that I can tell you. "

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