Costco, one of the largest warehouse clubs in the country, has struggled to find ways to keep its customers safe while facing the COVID-19 pandemic. Many stores have also implemented new initiatives to make shopping easier, like same-day delivery and curbside pick-up for all kinds of orders. Now, customers wonder if Costco offers curbside pick-up.
Costco launched a non-official curbside pick-up service in 2021 and it’s still available in 2022, but this initiative is different from those implemented by other retailers. Keep reading to know how Costco curbside pick-up works, its restrictions, and about more safe initiatives offered by the store.
The Initiative Of Curbside Pick-Up At Costco
Costco has more than 800 stores in the world, which offer hundreds of products from several categories, making it a well-known brand, especially due to its low prices. The store is available in 13 countries, including the United States, Japan, Canada, and Mexico. In contrast to its huge presence, curbside pick-up is only available at 3 locations!
The reasons behind this decision:
Why does Costco choose to do this? Well, the store finally decided to follow other retailers’ actions and started running a test of curbside pick-up service. Just 3 locations in Albuquerque, New Mexico, were determined to carry out this initiative. Curbside pick-up kicked off in January of 2021, although its official permanence hasn’t been clarified.
The reason why many people have become curious about whether Costco will continue providing this service or not is this: CFO Richard Galanti has stated that the service’s demand has decreased since the peak of the pandemic passed, although it showed great results in the first months. Today, the store has not discontinued the curbside pick-up service, but it hasn’t expanded to other locations either. Thus, it remains a non-official service. Besides, Costco has strived to improve other ways to reach out to customers recently.
How to access Curbside Pick-Up?
The first restriction of curbside pick-up at Costco is that only orders of $100 or more can apply to the service. Approximately 2,000 products are eligible for curbside pick-up. Additionally, the store charges $10 to every customer that requests it.
There are two parts to follow to access the service: Ordering and Pick-Up
Ordering
- Go to costco.com.
- Click on “Grocery”.
- Enter your ZIP code to see the available items at your local Costco.
- Select “Same-day delivery” then “Pick-up”.
*Please, note that although the process starts on Costco.com, the same-day delivery service website is powered by Instacart.
- Enter the location for your pick-up.
- Start shopping! Then, proceed to checkout as you usually would in a regular online purchase.
Pick-up
- Wait to receive a notification of when your order is ready for pick-up.
- When you come to Costco, park in one of the select pick-up spaces established by each store.
- Notify Costco when you have arrived and where you are parked. Do through the Instacart app.
- Wait for an employee to show up with your order to load it up to your vehicle.
Remember that, as for now, only three Costco locations count with this curbside pick-up. However, this is not the only service provided by the wholesale retailer to help you shop more safely.
Why Costco has not expanded its Curbside Pick-Up?
As Galanti has explained, fewer customers are willing to choose this service than before. Now that the majority of the population is vaccinated, people are less afraid of leaving their homes to shop in-store. Because of this, stores that were planning on fully implementing services, like the curbside pick-up, are now re-thinking their decision.
The economic implications of offering this service are another reason why Costco didn’t expand the curbside pick-up. After all, employees are supposed to spend extra time and effort when picking up items, storing them, and delivering them to the customers’ vehicles, although the prices for every item haven’t changed at all. In the long run, the additional $10 paid for getting service wouldn’t have been enough to secure its permanence.
Other Costco’s Initiatives
If curbside pick-up is still not clearly part of Costco’s services, in what other ways is the store assisting customers? There are two delivery services offered by Costco that promise to continue taking care of its customers:
- Same-day delivery -You get fresh items (like groceries) delivered to your home for orders over $35, also for an additional fee.
- 2-Day delivery – This works especially for non-perishable products, which are delivered to your home too. Usually, this service’s orders need to be at least $75.
Another initiative that works almost like curbside pick-up is:
- Pick-up lockers – Customers can shop online and get their orders shipped to their local Costco, where items are placed inside lockers, so they can visit the store to collect them. Pick-up lockers are supposed to be available at 200 Costco locations by the end of the year.
Conclusion
Although Costco tested curbside pick-up at three different locations, there are no plans of expanding the service yet. The expenses of keeping it working might be to blame for the lack of replication of this initiative in other stores. Nevertheless, Costco continues providing safe shopping experiences for customers, as it aims to install pick-up lockers in 200 locations this year.
Frequently Asked Questions
What other stores offer curbside pick-up?
Some of them are Target, Whole Foods, Walmart, Kroger, and Sam’s Club.
Are all groceries available for curbside pick-up?
Yes, all fresh products are available along with some non-food items.
