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Costco tries to shift tariff burden onto China suppliers: But that strategy comes with increasing risks as Beijing takes a more active role.

Consumers鈥� value focus is an expansion opportunity for Costco, BJ鈥檚: The two plan to open dozens of stores to capitalize on demand for warehouse retailers.

Retail workers don鈥檛 have the same leverage they did a few years ago: But recent moves by Costco and Starbucks suggest that unions can exert some pull.

On today鈥檚 podcast episode, we discuss what makes Sam鈥檚 Club stand out against Costco and BJ鈥檚, why its retail media offering is unique, and where it might be falling short. Listen to the conversation with our Senior Analyst Sara Lebow as she hosts Principal Analyst Sarah Marzano and Senior Analyst Zak Stambor.

Sam鈥檚 Club's efforts to streamline its shopping experience pay off: It soared past Costco to place first in this year's customer satisfaction rankings for general merchandise retailers.

Costco defends DEI policies amid right-wing backlash: The retailer noted the importance of diversity to its business while questioning activist investors鈥� motivations.

The FTC鈥檚 case against Southern Glazer鈥檚 could have profound implications for large retailers like Walmart and Costco: A successful suit could limit their ability to negotiate lower prices with suppliers, narrowing their advantage over smaller retailers.

46.6% of US internet users are also Amazon Prime members, nearly two times as many as Costco (25.1%), the No. 2 biggest retail membership , according to data from Comscore.

US visitors spent an average dwell time of 37.3 minutes in H1 2024, outpacing both Walmart (31.8 minutes) and Target (28.7 minutes), per data from Placer.ai. Costco was the only one to increase dwell time between H1 2021 and H1 2024.

On the other hand, Costco, which has upheld its DEI policies, has only had positive growth since the start of the year. Monthly foot traffic rose 7.5% in March, while Target visits dropped 6.5% month-over-month and Walmart visits dropped 3.8% month-over-month, per Placer.ai. Costco reported net sales of $25.51 billion for the five weeks ending April 6, 2025, an increase of 8.6% YoY.

The news: Warehouse clubs are off to a strong start in 2025, with January foot traffic and sales climbing at Costco, Sam鈥檚 Club, and BJ鈥檚 Wholesale Club. Visits rose 7.7% YoY at both Costco and Sam鈥檚 Club and gained 7.4% at BJ鈥檚 during January, per Placer.ai foot traffic data. Costco reported that its comparable sales rose 7.5% in the four weeks ended February 2.

Albertsons is also working with vendors to lower prices, but its smaller size relative to companies like Walmart and Costco gives it less room to negotiate concessions鈥攚hich was one of the considerations that pushed it to seek a merger with Kroger. One lever it can pull to help margins is to increase its penetration of private labels, which accounted for 25.4% of Q4 sales.

Companies like Costco have acted similarly, refuting a shareholder proposal challenging DEI practices. Yet others are giving into mounting pressure. Retailers like Walmart, Lowe鈥檚, and Target have shifted away from DEI since Trump鈥檚 election, and as Pride Month approaches, consumers will likely see this trend continue.

Still, it鈥檚 worth noting that Costco, which has notably stood firm on DEI, experienced a YoY increase in traffic during the same three-week period.

A different approach: Sam鈥檚 Club鈥檚 approach to in-store shopping differs a bit from Costco, which could be how Sam鈥檚 Club stole the top spot from Costco on this year鈥檚 American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). "If you dig into Costco's strategy, [the goal] is to create a chaotic in-store environment," said Marzano.

Costco and BJ鈥檚 Wholesale Club are expanding as well. Off-price retailers such as TJMaxx and Nordstrom Rack are also poised to win over value-driven shoppers. Their flexible buying models and ability to source merchandise locally help insulate them from rising import costs鈥攚hile appealing to consumers across income levels and regions.

Costco shoppers are spending more on groceries than food away from home, CFO Gary Millerchip said鈥攁 trend that explains why Walmart and other grocers are doubling down on prepared foods and foodservice partnerships.

Costco. Costco has strongly endorsed its DEI initiatives, despite industry pullback, stating they enhance the company's ability to attract and retain talent. However, this positive move is complicated by potential strike actions at the retailer.

Costco is facing direct pressure from 19 states鈥� attorneys general because of its commitment to DEI policies, per CBS. But the company hasn鈥檛 backed down鈥攁nd its customers seem to appreciate that. Its sales, ecommerce, and revenues are all up from last year, per Modern Retail. On the contrary, many of Target鈥檚 customers boycotted the company after it stepped away from its DEI initiatives.

But that hasn鈥檛 stopped retailers from trying: Walmart, Costco, and Target are among those pressuring manufacturers for lower prices鈥攁nd are likely to be at least somewhat successful, given their considerable market power. Any concessions will come at the expense of manufacturers鈥� already razor-thin profits.

Here鈥檚 how ad buyers ranked the retail media networks of 14 leading CPG-focused retailers鈥攊ncluding Ahold Delhaize, Albertsons, Amazon, Costco Wholesale, CVS, Instacart, Kroger, Target, and Walmart鈥攁ccording to the attributes they value most.