Costco memberships will get more expensive, CFO says

(NEXSTAR) – Costco will follow the likes of Sam’s Club, Amazon, and most streaming services in raising its membership fee, the company’s chief financial officer confirmed last week.

Ultimately, it’s not a question of if the cost will rise, it’s when.

During a recent earnings call, Costco CFO Richard Galanti repeatedly noted membership fees have, historically, risen roughly every five years. The last three price increases have happened five years and seven months apart.

If the next price hike were to follow the same five-year, seven months pattern, it could happen as soon as January (the most recent cost increase happened in June 2017). But, don’t expect it.

While Galanti explained Costco has “no problem thinking about [raising the membership fee] and doing it ultimately,” he remained “purposely coy” on when the price increase may happen.

“If we have to wait a few months or several months, that’s fine,” he said, adding later in the call that amid inflation and fears of a recession, “there’s no rush” to raise the membership fee. He went on to say that Costco feels “very good about where our renewal rates are and then the loyalty that our members have.”

Galanti has been hinting since early this year that a membership price hike would happen “at some point.”

Currently, a Costco Gold Star Membership is $60 and an Executive Membership is $120.

Two months ago, Costco competitor Sam’s Club raised its Club membership fee for the first time in nine years. It also hiked its Plus membership fee for the first time since 1999. Other subscription services like Amazon, Netflix, Hulu, and Disney+ have also raised their rates this year.