Costco Canada is cracking down on non-members sneaking into its stores by installing membership scanners at entrances “over the coming months.”
The warehouse retail giant said that once the devices are installed, flashing a membership card to staff will no longer be enough to gain entry. Customers will be required to scan the barcode on either their physical membership card or the QR code on their digital Costco ID to gain admittance, according to an entry on Costco’s customer service
page.
Costco is also taking measures to prevent the use of fraudulent membership cards. In addition to a scanner at the entrance, employees will be on-hand to check cards, the page says. Anyone with a membership card that does not have a photo, will be asked by employees manning the door to show a valid photo ID.
Those without a photo membership card will be urged to “stop by the membership counter to have a photo taken to have on your card,” the company said, adding that all guests to the store must be “accompanied by a valid member for entry.”
Costco Wholesale Canada did not respond to requests for comment on the change, or on when scanners will be installed at its more than
100 stores across the country.
A lengthy Reddit
thread suggests scanners have already been implemented at several Canadian locations.
A post on Costco’s customer service page appears to confirm that fraudulent use of Costco’s self-service checkouts has become an issue for the wholesale company.
“Our membership policy states that our membership cards are not transferable and since expanding our self-service checkout, we’ve noticed that non-member shoppers have been using membership cards that do not belong to them,” the page
says.
Costco says its ability to offer competitive pricing is largely attributed to the membership fees it receives, which helps lower its operational expenditures.
While
talking about the issue last year, Costco stated it doesn’t “feel it’s right that non-members receive the same benefits and pricing as our members.”
Costco is also preparing to increase its membership fees this fall. The retailer
announced last month its plan to implement a $5 increase for its gold star members and a $10 increase for executive card holders. Gold star memberships will rise from $60 to $65 while executive members will now pay $130, up from the previous $120.
Costco projects the fee hike will impact roughly 52 million memberships, with approximately half being at the executive tier.
Executive membership holders benefit from a 2 percent reward on Costco purchases, capped at $1,000, according to the press release. The cap will be elevated to $1,250 as of Sept. 1.
