Will millenials kill Costco? And The rise of Amazon.

[admin]

Sam’s Club recently closed stores.

We are fortunate to live in a diverse metro areas so I doubt Costco will close in San Diego.

Although I shop at Costco, personally don’t really care for the store. I would not shed a tear if they decline.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/will-millennials-kill-costco/2018/01/19/d0de5dec-fb9e-11e7-a46b-a3614530bd87_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-main_costco-345pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.

I can see how Jeff Bezos is the richest guy. Amazon is just great for buying anything. Im able to buy a lot of home hardware (faucets, door knobs, etc ). In the past those would be expensive designer items on special order.

I try to diversify my online purchases away from Amazon. But they are hard to beat in price and customer service.

If Jeff Bezos took down the paywall at Washington Post, he could beat NYTimes.

[spdrun]

I wouldn’t shed a tear for Amazon, so we’re even.

[moneymaker]

I have a Costco card and my wife has prime membership, the best of both world’s. I get cash back and she gets free shipping. I probably should shop at Walmart more but I despise Sam’s as every time I used to go in there the employees at the checkout had spirits that just screamed how they hated their jobs, very depressing. Unfortunately I’m starting to notice this as well at some of the non union Costco stores.P.S.- article in OP was written by an employee of Bezos , hardly un-biased.

[The-Shoveler]

Every Costco I go to is completely packed with people filling their carts to the brim every time.

Parking lots are very large and very hard to find an empty spot.

They don’t carry everything but what they do carry is generally of good quality and it is very hard to beat them on price.

I really like Costco myself but sometimes Walmart has good stuff as well, personally I have had bad experiences buying off Amazon.

IMO never buy Auto parts off Amazon. Go to a major autoparts store (well with the exception of name brand stuff like spark plugs etc.., you can get these much cheaper online “but I never buy even these off amazon, online stores like SparkPlugs.com have much better prices and service”)

[FlyerInHi]

I refuse to pay for Amazon Prime.
If I need something shipped fast, i use a friend’s account. Otherwise I wait. Amazon used to ship fast and it’s only 2 days via UPS almost anywhere near a fullfillment center. But now Amazon holds the order for days to induce you to buy Prime. Very zleazy.

Shoveler, you live in Southerrn California with big population. In Vegas it’s even more crowded at Costco because there are fewer stores. We are lucky that in So Cal, we don’t see store closings and vacant lots. But I hear the mall in Riverside is pretty dead. The small towns suffer at lot more.

What are the demographics you see at Costco? I don’t see many young people.
In Mission Valley, Ikea has a lot of young people. Walk across the parking lot to Costco and observe the change in demographics.

I wonder if families and kids do shop at Costco for 4 hours (home departure to return). Waste of time, bigly.

[FlyerInHi]

[quote=spdrun]I wouldn’t shed a tear for Amazon, so we’re even.[/quote]

It’s too bad that the big guys are killing the little guys. But hey, that’s life . We gotta work with what we got.

[FlyerInHi]

BTW, Amazon’s buy of Whole Foods is to compete with Alibaba in shopping technology.
Alibaba is actually further along in cashless, cashierless tech.

http://fortune.com/2017/12/12/alibaba-amazon-supermarket/

[The-Shoveler]

[quote=FlyerInHi]

What are the demographics you see at Costco? I don’t see many young people.[/quote]

Me I see mostly young families (Big – as in at least 3 kids in tow).

Not too many single people shop at Costco I think (at least I never see them).

I think as more Millenials have families places like Costco will appeal to them more.

I think it comes down to perspective, If you have a family you like places like Costco, if you are young and single you shop and pay for convenience.

“Amazon holds the order for days to induce you to buy Prime.” “or pay for shipping”
Yes I see a lot of online retailers doing that not just Amazon.

[FlyerInHi]

I’m going to try boxed.com

I think Costco is not at risk yet, in the urban centers. Store like Staples are on their deathbeds for sure. There is no reason to shop at staples anymore.

[Reality]

[quote=The-Shoveler]Every Costco I go to is completely packed with people filling their carts to the brim every time. [/quote]

The Costco on Scripps Poway Parkway is shockingly uncrowded.

[The-Shoveler]

[quote=Reality][quote=The-Shoveler]Every Costco I go to is completely packed with people filling their carts to the brim every time. [/quote]

The Costco on Scripps Poway Parkway is shockingly uncrowded.[/quote]

I wish I lived close to that one LOL, The one in San Marcos is somewhat less crowded than Carlsbad’s, Temecula’s is always a complete mad house all the time.

[plm]

[quote=Reality][quote=The-Shoveler]Every Costco I go to is completely packed with people filling their carts to the brim every time. [/quote]

The Costco on Scripps Poway Parkway is shockingly uncrowded.[/quote]

Even though I work a block away from the Carmel Mountain Costco, I go to the Poway one whenever I need gas, lines are much shorter there. It does get busy on the weekend.

Not sure what I would do without Costco. It covers the majority of my shopping. Then asian grocery stores and Amazon for what Costco doesn’t have. I think there is room for both Costco and Amazon, they serve different needs. Amazon is pricier but you can get whatever you want. Just bought a weather station from Amazon that cost twice as much as the Costco one but this one lets you use Alexa to get the weather report.

[FlyerInHi]

Of course, there is room for Costco. But maybe Costco will stop growing or even decline as shoppers shift their buying habits.

I now scan barcodes to see if amazon offers the same procdut at a lower price.

Costco offers somw premium products that delight their customers like hansgrohe faucets. But that doesn’t work anymore when shopping online so easy.

i think we will see decline of brick and mortar retail across the board.

[Author]

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