Wholesale Clubs Saw Increased Visits in Q2

Superstore and wholesale club chains grew visits year over year in Q2 2026, led by Costco, according to research from Placer.ai. Research found that overall visits outpaced visits per location across the board.

“Costco led the pack in Q2 2026, with overall visits up 8.2% year over year (YoY) and average visits per location up 6.0%. BJ's Wholesale Club, Sam's Club and Target each grew overall visits just shy of 5.0%, while Walmart added a more modest 0.8% increase,” Placer.ai wrote.

Wholesale clubs outpaced superstores in every month from April through July, reflecting “continued consumer demand for bulk value amid persistent macro-economic pressures,” Placer.ai wrote. At Costco, visits grew 7.6% to 9.0% every month, according to the research. Sam's Club held steady at 4.5% to 5.2%, with same-store traffic driving most of the gains.

Placer.ai noted that across all three wholesale clubs, gas remained an important visit driver. “Although YoY gas station visit growth moderated from May peaks… July visits remained elevated across the board,” it said.

Placer.ai concluded that with deal weeks shifting to June, July’s broad strength points to genuine momentum across value retail, with the next test being whether that strength holds as the sector heads into the holiday season.

In 2025, Costco announced that it would expand the hours of its members-only fuel centers from 9 p.m. to 10 p.m., past the typical 6 p.m. closing time of the store, which led to the retailer seeing record breaking fuel sales.