In September, Costco Warehouse Corp. kept posting strong comparable store sales, and, although down from peak COVID-19 pandemic increases, e-commerce continued almost double-digit advances.
Overall, Costco reported net sales of $19.5 billion for the retail month of September, the five weeks ended October 3, up 15.8% from the year-previous month.
Year over year, comparable store sales in September without the effect of foreign exchange rate or fuel price volatility were up 10% in the United States, 7.3% in Canada and 8% in other international markets for a company total of 9.4%. E-commerce gained 9.6%.
In a conference call, Costco noted that sales regions that had the best results were Texas, the Southeast and San Diego. As for merchandising categories, Nonfoods gained in the low double digits with home furnishings, jewelry, tires and garden best. Food & Sundries sales increased in the mid to high single digits while Fresh Foods increased in the mid to high single digits.
Costco operates 817 warehouse clubs, including 565 in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, 105 in Canada, 39 in Mexico, 30 in Japan, 29 in the United Kingdom, 16 in Korea, 14 in Taiwan, 13 in Australia, three in Spain, and one each in Iceland, France and China. Costco also operates e-commerce websites in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Korea, Taiwan, Japan and Australia.
