Costco to eliminate year-round book sales amid Amazon competition
- Costco will only stock books seasonally during the holiday period.
- The retailer's decision stems from high staffing costs associated with book stocking.
- The removal of the book section highlights the growing challenges faced by physical bookstores against online giants.
In a significant shift in its retail strategy, Costco Wholesale Corporation will cease to stock books year-round in all of its stores across the United States starting in January 2025. This decision marks the end of an era for Costco, which has provided a book section in its warehouses for many years, and comes following a fierce competition with online retail giant Amazon since 1995. The decision was officially announced in June 2024, significantly impacting publishers and customers alike. Costco plans to redesign the layout of its stores after the holiday season, removing the dedicated book section to focus on other more profitable merchandise. Costco's executives cited labor costs as a driving factor behind this decision. Stocking books requires considerable staffing resources as new titles are released every Tuesday and unsold copies must be returned, demanding time and effort that Costco management deemed excessive. This became increasingly problematic as they often ordered vast quantities of books, sometimes hundreds of thousands of copies of popular titles, which required meticulous management. The pivot away from books highlights a broader trend of physical retailers struggling against online competitors, particularly in categories like books where consumers have shifted towards online purchasing. Industry experts expressed concerns about the implications of this decision. Robert Gottlieb, chair of Trident Media Group, indicated that Costco's decision is a blow to the publishing industry, which has been struggling with stagnant sales figures while consumers increasingly favor online shopping. Brenna Connor, director of US books at Circana, reiterated the convenience Costco provided to shoppers who could easily find newly released novels or children's books while doing their grocery shopping. Eliminating the book section leaves fewer retail venues for readers to physically browse and buy books, which is particularly concerning in an age where the physical book retail sector is already dwindling. In addition to this change in book stocking, Costco has also implemented stricter membership policies, requiring members to have their IDs scanned upon entry. Previously, members could simply show their membership cards without further verification, but this policy now means shoppers must be accompanied by a member or risk being turned away. This enforcement is part of Costco's ongoing initiative to enhance membership security, which coincided with the increase in membership prices in September 2024 for the first time in seven years. Overall, Costco's recent actions reflect a growing alarm in the retail sector about the relentless rise of ecommerce and the evolving shopping habits of consumers, further reshaping the landscape of brick-and-mortar retail.