Summer ended and autumn began with continued sales gains at Costco Wholesale Corp.
For the fiscal month of September, Costco reported net sales of $22.75 billion, up 6% year over year. With the effects of fuel prices and foreign exchange volatility excluded, comparable store sales gained 2.7% in the United States, 8% in Canada and 4.9% in other international locations for an overall company net sales gain of of 3.7% versus September 2022, with e-commerce comps up 3.5%.
Comp traffic in the U.S. increased 4.5% versus September in the year prior, the company stated in a conference call. U.S. regions that had the strongest results were the Southeast, Texas and the Northeast.
Non-Foods comps were down year over year in the low to mid single digits with jewelry, tires and automotive producing the best sales. Food and Sundries comps were up in the mid to high single digits while Fresh Food comps were up in the mid to high single digits, versus the month a year earlier.