Costco Wholesale has reported a 10.5% increase in sales for the month of December, to $15.4 billion (€13.86 billion).
The company said that it saw an increase in e-commerce sales in the five-week period (to 5 January), which was driven by Thanksgiving/Black Friday/Cyber Monday, occurring a week later this year compared to last year.
For the 18-week period to 5 January, the company reported net sales of $57 billion (€51.2 billion), an increase of 7.5% from $53 billion (€47.6 billion) recorded during the same period the previous year.
During December, comparable sales in the US saw an increase in sales of 9.4%, Canada saw a 9.0% increase, and its other international operations saw a 7.5% increase, pushing the company’s total comparable sales increase to 9.0% during the 5 week period.
Over the 18-week period, meanwhile, comparable sales were up 6.7% in the US, with Canada up 5.2% and its other international operations seeing a 5.2% increase. Total comparable sales growth for the period was up 6.3%.
E-Commerce Sales
E-commerce sales were up 43.1% in the five-week period and 17.1% in the 18-week period respectively.
An estimated 20% of the sharp rise in e-commerce sales was due to Thanksgiving/Black Friday/Cyber Monday occurring a week later this year. Total and comparable sales saw a one percent increase.
Costco operates in 13 countries worldwide, with 785 warehouses, including 546 in the United States and Puerto Rico, 100 in Canada, 39 in Mexico, 29 in the United Kingdom, 26 in Japan, 16 in Korea, 13 in Taiwan, 11 in Australia, two in Spain, and one each in Iceland, France, and China.
Costco’s e-commerce sites operate in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Korea, Taiwan and Japan.
© 2019 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Elizabeth Schroeder. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
