Placer.ai: Costco Foot Traffic Points to Increased Loyalty

According to foot traffic research firm Placer.ai, Costco visit data shows rising engagement and a broadening customer base, with both total and same-store visits posting healthy year-over-year gains through the back half of 2025 and into January.

Placer.ai also noted that the foot traffic data aligns with the company’s recent earnings reports that show consistent mid-single-digit comparable sales growth throughout 2025.

Visit data shows that Costco’s customer demographics are shifting. While it still over indexes on affluent consumers, it is also attracting a growing cohort of younger shoppers, a segment comprising singles, married couples without children and non-family households.

“The persistence of this shift despite higher [membership] fees [raised in September 2024] challenges the notion that price increases drive exclusivity. For many households, the fee remains a rational trade-off for reliable savings—and the broader reach gives Costco added leverage to negotiate pricing and defend margins,” Placer.ai wrote.

Placer.ai noted that Costco’s recent moves, which also included restricting food court access to members only in addition to raising membership fees, show that pricing power and scale don’t have to be trade-offs. “By pairing higher fees with stricter enforcement, the company is strengthening loyalty, preserving value perception and widening its appeal to younger households—all while keeping traffic strong. That combination leaves Costco unusually well positioned as cost pressures persist: a retailer with both the volume to command supplier leverage and a member base committed enough to sustain it,” the company reported.

Meanwhile in Hawaii, Costco is building its second standalone gas station, located in Honolulu. ʻŌlauniu, the company running the project, said the station should be completed in 2027.

“Emphasizing sustainability, the project will reuse and renovate four existing buildings across nine acres, encompassing 174,270 square feet of space, alongside new retail development along Dillingham Boulevard. … Demolition and preparation of the property is currently underway and began in October 2025,” ʻŌlauniu said.

NACS Daily reported in June 2025 that Costco planned to open its first ever stand-alone gas station in the city of Mission Viejo, California. The station will feature 40 pumps and will not have a convenience store. It will be located at the Mission Viejo Freeway Center at 25732 El Paseo, just off Interstate 5.