Costco Is Making Major Changes to Its Online Buying Experience, According to the Company's Chief Financial Officer Costco is exploring what new tech can do, including "expanded" buy-online-pickup-in-warehouse options and adding more drones and robots.
By Emily Rella Edited by Melissa Malamut
Key Takeaways
- Costco's CFO Gary Millerchip said the company is making technological improvements, including "expanded" online buying options and adding larger electronics to store shelves.
- The retailer recently increased membership fees for the first time in over five years.
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Though Costco's business model thrives on a brick-and-mortar retail experience, the company isn't shying away from making technological improvements to its current online experience.
During a Q3 2024 earnings call with investors, CFO Gary Millerchip fielded questions about how the chain will be "more aggressive" with technological investments, from expanded buy online-pickup-in-warehouse options to "deploying more technology" in stores, including the use of drones and robots in the warehouses.
Related: Costco CEO Raises Hourly Wages for Employees
"We are working on all those aspects right now. We're rolling out an expanded buy-online-pickup-in-warehouse," Millerchip said. "That is always going to be limited in scope based on the volume in our warehouses that we have."
Millerchip also said that the chain is working on expanding the scope of items that it sells, including larger electronics.
"We can't expand to all categories, but we're expanding as we currently speak in televisions and other electronic items that are there. And so, yeah, we see that as a real opportunity for us," Millerchip said. "Technology is going to be one of our key priorities moving forward … You know, we see a great opportunity for data. We have expanded our group there. We have a significant program now with retail media."
Related: Costco's CEO Says This Product Is the 'Most Important Item We Sell'
Earlier this month, the company increased membership prices for the first time in nearly five years just one day after announcing that hourly wages for certain employees would increase by $1.
Costco was up over 45.5% year over year as of Monday morning.
