Costco shoppers nationwide will soon be asked to scan their membership ID before entering a warehouse.
The retail giant is installing membership scanning devices at the entrance doors of more locations over the coming months, according to a new page on Costco’s website. Once the scanners are ready to go, members will be asked to scan their physical or digital membership card at the entrance door.
This policy is an expansion of previous efforts by Costco to stop the abuse of its membership policy. Earlier this year, Costco rolled out the scanning policy at a handful of warehouses.
Asking shoppers to scan their cards makes it more difficult for members to share their card with a friend. Sharing a Costco membership card with a nonmember violates Costco’s membership policy as found on the retailer’s website.
That policy explicitly states that “the Costco membership card is non-transferable.”
Guests are still welcome at Costco, but they must be accompanied by a member to enter a warehouse.
Costco also states that although members can bring up to two guests per visit, “purchasing items is exclusive to Costco members.” In other words, if you bring a guest, you must pay for the items the guest wants to purchase.
Costco primary members and account managers can assign one free card to one other person from the member’s home, however.
Costco’s crackdown on sharing cards started in 2023, when staff began asking shoppers for their photo ID — instead of just their membership card — at checkout. Alternatively, Costco members can have a photo added to their membership card.
According to a 2023 report from the Dallas Morning News, after Costco installed additional self-checkout lines in its stores, the retailer noticed that more nonmember shoppers were using the cards of members to make purchases.
So, Costco has since been moving to stop this practice.
In the Morning News report, a Costco spokesperson provided a statement that read in part, “We don’t feel it’s right that nonmembers receive the same benefits and pricing as our members.”
The newspaper also reported that Costco has stated that membership fees play a critical role in allowing the retailer to keep prices “as low as possible,” and Costco says that reality makes the “membership fee and structure important to us.”
So, instead of trying to piggyback on a friend’s account, perhaps it’s time to get your own Costco membership.
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