Costco sales are actually down lately… they seem busy.. but because this is the end of the fiscal year and the managers are fighting to get their payroll bonuses… so they cut massive hours.. and then the store looks busy.. in reality there is less traffic, but less employees and open lines too.
Costco will always “look” busy even if the economy is slowing.. one reason is that they sell food, water, and consumer staples. The other and possibly more important is that Costco is constantly adjusting their workforce in regards to sales volume, door counts, and average shop price. They will always seem busy because they are too efficient to have employees standing around if unnecessary.