Sam's Club is quietly out-executing Costco
- machristineoffice
- Feb 20
- 2 min read
Now before the knives, come out…
How freaking boring do you want me to be?
You want a post saying Costco does more revenue?
Obvi. Settle down. 👇
• Costco annual revenue: $𝟮𝟱𝟬𝗕
• Sam’s Club annual revenue: $𝟴𝟱–𝟵𝟬𝗕
Costco is roughly 3× larger by revenue.
But Sam’s is doing some brilliant 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮 stuff.
I’m talking about operating leverage here.
I’m talking about a 10-year play.
We should be watching the seeds Sam’s is planting:
𝟭. 𝗥𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.
• Shopping time is a key obstacle in Club growth.
• Sam’s Club has Scan & Go in nearly 100% of clubs.
• AI-powered exits remove manual receipt checks
• Costco is still entirely Manual.
𝟮. 𝗠𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴.
• Sam’s Club base: $𝟱𝟬 / year
• Costco Gold Star: $𝟲𝟱 / year
• Executive tiers widen the gap further.
• $15/mo doesn’t matter? We’re talking value shoppers.
𝟯. 𝗗𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 + 𝗽𝗵𝘆𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.
• Sam’s runs on Walmart’s tech stack.
• Sam’s has curbside pickup and National delivery.
• Sam’s App: Live inventory, in-store locating, single cart checkout.
• Costco App: Very limited comparatively.
𝟰. 𝗟𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗿 𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲.
• Sam’s: Scan & Go + AI Checkout reduce labor.
• Sam’s: Enjoy’s Walmart’s supply chain tech.
• Costco: Much lower automation, end-to-end.
𝟱. 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗮 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘀
• Sam’s Club China:
• 50+ clubs
• Faster unit expansion
• 40–50% of sales from e-com.
• Costco China:
• 7 clubs
• Very analog in a digital first culture.
Now for those that don’t think Sam’s and Costco compete: 👇
😂😂😂😂😂
𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘺.
Last note, I am NOT Sam’s > Costco.
I’m just saying Sam’s is putting in work.
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If you need help with velocity in either Sam’s or Costco:
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Now it’s your turn.
What is the best club in the US?
Costco, Sam’s Club, or BJ’s?
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We drive velocity in Sprouts, Whole Foods, Walmart, Target, Walgreens, CVS, Kroger, Sam's, COSTCO, and lots of other retailers.
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