Michigan Costco Stores Crack Down on Membership Sharing

Things are about to change at your local Costco store. It’s a change that’s good for the company but not so great for you and the people you share your membership with.

I’ve never shopped at Costco, but I know it’s very much like Sam’s Club in that you have to show your membership card before entering the store. Well, it seems Costco is getting ready to take a stand against customers who share their membership, something that’s been happening more and more since the pandemic in 2020. Hey, it worked for Netflix—subscriptions went up when they put a stop to password sharing.

So, what exactly is Costco doing to crack down on membership sharing? According to CBS News, Costco Wholesale is adding membership scanners at all store entrances to prevent non-members from shopping there. Costco members will be required to scan their physical or digital membership cards before they can walk into the store.

Costco

Over the coming months, membership scanning devices will be used at the entrance door of your local warehouse. Once deployed, prior to entering, all members must scan their physical or digital membership card.

Guests can still enter the store, but they must be accompanied by a valid member.

This new measure will also eliminate the need for employees to ask shoppers for membership cards at registers and self-checkout.

In July, Costco announced it was raising its membership fees for the first time since 2017. Much like streaming memberships, prices continue to rise.