Costco touts success of card scanner launch; speeds up the checkout process

Costco is already reaping the benefits after recently introducing membership card scanners at the front of warehouses in its U.S. stores, and the move is being well received by customers, the wholesale club said Friday.

During the retailer’s fourth-quarter earnings call, Costco CEO Ron Vachris noted that the company has been using card readers at the front of its stores in Europe for more than two years and has been piloting the system in the U.S. for about six months tests.

Costco says its rollout of membership card scanners on U.S. store fronts has been a success. (Marlene Awaad/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)

He pointed to several ways the scanners help Costco improve operational efficiency in stores.

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“It gives our operators real-time traffic numbers throughout the day. “This gives us the ability to adjust the front-end lines we need to open and close lines based on business fluctuations,” Vachris explained.

Customers shop at a Costco store in Teterboro, New Jersey, on Wednesday, February 28, 2024. (Stephanie Keith/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)

“We’re able to monitor our fresh food a little better because we know what the traffic numbers are, etc.,” he said, “and it’s also taken the friction of membership verification away from the front-end registries and moved it to the front end Front door where we can see people’s membership status.”

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The Costco boss added that the scanners also allow customers to be notified when their membership renewals are due before they reach the front of the store, “and the membership card scanners installed at the front doors hit the target, checkout.” “This process was very well received by our members.”

Customers look at groceries on display at the Costco store in Colchester, Vermont, on August 16, 2024. (Photo by Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images / Getty Images)

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The CEO also said members are “very excited” to be able to check inventory using the new “Search Inventory” tool that Costco recently launched for some customers mobile app.