Costco Member Loyalty 2026: Why the World's Most Loyal Shoppers Are Your Brand's Biggest Opportunity
- alexsteinbergmojo
- 2 hours ago
- 8 min read
There is no audience in all of retail quite like a Costco member. Not Amazon Prime subscribers. Not Walmart+ members. Not loyalty program cardholders at any grocery chain in the country. The Costco member is a fundamentally different kind of shopper — more committed, more engaged, more purchase-ready, and more valuable to the brands that earn their attention than any other consumer segment in retail today.
And in 2026, Costco member loyalty is not just holding strong — it is hitting numbers that should make every brand owner sit up and take serious notice.
Costco ended Q2 2026 with 82.1 million paid household members, up 4.8% from the prior-year period, while total cardholders increased 4.7% to 147.2 million.
Membership fee revenue jumped 13.6% year-over-year to $1.36 billion — and the company maintained a near-record 92.3% renewal rate in the U.S. and Canada.
A 92.3% renewal rate. Nearly 150 million cardholders. Membership fee revenue growing at double digits. These are not the metrics of a loyalty program that is coasting — they are the metrics of a consumer relationship that is getting stronger every single year. And for brands that understand what this means in practical terms, the opportunity is enormous.
At MOJO Sales & Branding, we have spent over 20 years helping brands get in front of the Costco member. We know this audience better than almost anyone outside of Costco itself — how they shop, what they respond to, what they buy, and most importantly, how brands can position themselves to win their loyalty on the floor. This blog breaks it all down.
The Costco Member Loyalty Numbers That Every Brand Owner Needs to Know
Let's start with the data — because the numbers paint a picture of consumer loyalty that is genuinely extraordinary in the context of modern retail.
92.3% renewal rate in the U.S. and Canada. This high retention rate confirms that members view the $65 to $130 annual fee as a mandatory utility rather than a discretionary expense — providing Costco with the high-margin cushion necessary to keep shelf prices lower than traditional grocery chains.
When a consumer treats a membership fee like a utility bill — something they pay automatically because life without it is genuinely less convenient and less valuable — that is a level of brand loyalty that most retailers can only dream about.
147.2 million total cardholders worldwide. Including paid members, the number of Costco cardholders comes to 145.2 million, with 79.3% of Costco members having a household card.
This is not a niche audience. This is a mass-market consumer base — one that is paying for the privilege of shopping, which means every single person who walks through those warehouse doors has skin in the game.
$3,000 per member per year in average spending. The average Costco shopper spends slightly more than $100 per visit and makes 30 trips per year — totaling approximately $3,000 per year.
Think about that number in the context of a Costco Roadshow. A brand that earns the loyalty of even a fraction of the members who walk past its demo table on a given weekend is not just winning a single transaction — it is potentially capturing a consumer who will spend $3,000 at Costco in the next twelve months.
55.5% of the entire wholesale club market. Costco accounts for 55.5% of the wholesale club market, leading the way — followed by Sam's Club at 36.2% and BJ's Wholesale at 8.3%.
More than half of every dollar spent in club retail in America goes through Costco. There is no other channel that concentrates this level of loyal, high-spending consumer traffic in a single retail environment.
The Executive Member — The Most Valuable Shopper in Retail
Within the already-extraordinary Costco membership base, there is a segment that deserves its own conversation: the Costco Executive Member. Understanding this consumer is one of the most important things a brand entering the Costco channel can do.
38.7 million Costco memberships — 47.8% of all memberships — are Executive accounts. And 73.6% of Costco's worldwide net sales are attributed to Executive members.
Let that ratio sink in. Less than half of Costco's members are driving nearly three quarters of its total global sales. These are not casual shoppers. These are the most committed, highest-spending, most brand-engaged consumers in retail.
Executive members now account for 47.7% of all paid members but drive 74.2% of worldwide sales — making them disproportionately valuable to the business. The 2% cashback reward on Executive memberships creates a self-reinforcing spending loop. The more a member spends, the more they earn back — which encourages members to concentrate more of their household spending at Costco rather than splitting it across competitors.
For brands, the Executive Member profile is critically important because it tells you who is most likely to stop at your demo booth, engage with your brand story, and make a purchasing decision on the spot. This is not a price-only shopper. This is a consumer who has chosen to invest more in their Costco relationship because they derive genuine value from it — which means they are open to, and actively seeking, products that deliver real quality, real differentiation, and a real reason to choose you over the alternatives.
To stimulate Executive membership growth, Costco has enhanced the executive package with perks such as a monthly $10 Instacart credit and improved warehouse accessibility through extended hours.
Costco is investing heavily in this segment because it knows exactly how valuable these members are. Brands should be thinking the same way — because winning an Executive Member's loyalty is one of the highest-value outcomes a Costco Roadshow or shelf placement can deliver.
Why Costco Member Loyalty 2026 Is Stronger Than Ever — And What Is Driving It
The 92.3% renewal rate did not happen by accident. It is the product of a deliberate, consistent, decades-long strategy by Costco to structure the member relationship in a way that makes loyalty the rational choice — not just the emotional one.
The Sunk Cost Psychology
When a customer pays $65 or $130 for a membership at the start of the year, they have made a tangible financial commitment.
Behavioral economists refer to the tendency to continue an activity because of prior investment as the sunk cost effect. In practice, this means Costco members are motivated to shop at Costco frequently enough to justify the annual fee they have already paid. They are not choosing between Costco and a competitor on a per-trip basis — they are defending an investment already made.
This is gold for brands on the Costco floor. A shopper who has already committed financially to being a Costco member is psychologically primed to find value in the Costco experience — including the products they discover in the warehouse. The purchase mindset of a Costco member is categorically different from someone who wandered into a store with no prior commitment.
The Price Promise That Never Breaks
In 2025, shoppers saw concrete savings on staples. The price of whipped cream dropped from $10.49 to $8.99 for a three-pack, walnuts fell from $14.49 to $12.99 for a three-pound bag, and bacon became cheaper at $16.99 per 4-pack.
Costco's consistent commitment to lowering prices — not just holding them — creates a trust relationship with members that is almost impossible to replicate in traditional retail. Members know that when they see a price at Costco, it is the best available. That trust extends to the brands on the shelf — members who trust Costco's buying judgment are predisposed to trust the products Costco has chosen to carry.
The Digital Evolution of Loyalty
Analysts attribute some renewal pressure to the growing proportion of digital sign-ups, which may lack the in-store engagement that fosters loyalty. To counter this, Costco has introduced auto-renewal features and expanded perks like extended warehouse hours and Instacart credits.
Costco is actively evolving its loyalty architecture to accommodate a new generation of members who discovered the brand digitally — and the brands that understand this shift are the ones best positioned to connect with this emerging segment through digital marketing that mirrors the Costco experience online.
How Brands Can Capitalize on Costco Member Loyalty in 2026
Understanding the Costco member is one thing. Knowing how to position your brand to win their loyalty is another. Here is exactly what the Costco member loyalty data tells us about how brands should be approaching this channel in 2026:
Show Up Where They Already Are
The average Costco shopper makes 30 trips per year.
Thirty trips. That is almost three times a month. These are not occasional visitors — they are habitual shoppers with established routines inside the warehouse. For brands, this means the goal is not just a single sale — it is becoming part of a shopper's Costco routine. The brands that achieve that level of consumer integration become effectively recession-proof within the channel.
The way you get there is through consistency — consistent shelf presence, consistent roadshow programming, consistent quality, and consistent brand messaging that builds recognition over multiple visits. The Costco member who walks past your product three times before buying it is not a lost prospect — they are a consumer in the process of becoming loyal. Be patient. Be consistent. Be present.
Build for the Executive Member First
Given that Executive members drive nearly 75% of Costco's worldwide sales, every brand entering the Costco channel should be asking: does my product, my price point, my brand story, and my demo floor experience speak directly to this consumer? The Executive Member is quality-conscious, value-aware, and willing to spend more for the right product. They are not the lowest-price shopper in the building — they are the most discerning one.
Your product quality needs to justify a premium. Your brand story needs to resonate with a consumer who has made intentional choices about how they spend. Your demo floor experience needs to be polished, knowledgeable, and genuinely engaging — because this shopper can tell the difference between a rep who knows the product and one who is just going through the motions.
Leverage Digital to Reach Members Before They Walk In
Online shopping accounted for $18.89 billion of Costco's annual revenue, and 2.23 million global consumers use Costco shopping apps in a typical month.
The Costco member who finds your brand on social media, reads your story online, and then encounters your product in the warehouse or at a roadshow is a dramatically warmer prospect than a cold walk-by.
Digital marketing that targets Costco member demographics — in the geographic markets where your brand is available — creates a pre-awareness that makes every in-store interaction more efficient and more likely to convert.
This is one of the highest-leverage strategies available to brands in the Costco channel right now — and it is one that the vast majority of brands are still not doing deliberately or consistently.
The Bottom Line on Costco Member Loyalty 2026
Costco's Q2 2026 earnings confirm its status as an indispensable pillar of the modern retail landscape — delivering a double beat on earnings and revenue, maintaining stellar membership loyalty, and successfully pivoting to a high-growth digital strategy.
The Costco member loyalty story in 2026 is not complicated: 147 million cardholders, a 92.3% renewal rate, $3,000 in average annual spending per member, and an Executive tier driving three quarters of worldwide sales. This is the most loyal, most committed, most purchase-ready retail audience in the world — and it is growing every single quarter.
For brands that are positioned, prepared, and partner with the right experts, this audience is the most powerful growth engine available in retail today. At MOJO Sales & Branding, we know how to put your brand in front of these members — at the right moment, with the right message, through the right combination of in-store execution and digital amplification.
Your brand deserves to be part of the Costco member's routine. Let's build the strategy to make that happen.
Call us today at 732.433.7873 or email Susan@MOJOSalesandBranding.com. Let's bring your brand to life.
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