Costco's Fantastic New In-Store Feature Will Make Shopping So Much Easier
A Costco membership card gives you access to a plethora of nifty perks, from gift card deals to affordable gas. And in good news for members, the retailer just added a new in-store feature that can make the Costco shopping experience so much easier.
The Costco-themed Instagram account @costcoempties posted a video last week announcing that a new price-checking feature had just been installed in their local warehouse. Members need only walk up and scan an item in order to get the exact price.
Some shoppers have reported seeing similar price checkers at other warehouses in the past, but they seem to only be available in select locations. So for members who don't shop at those locations, a price checker would be a completely brand-new feature. The member who runs the @costcoempties account, for example, said they had never seen such a feature before at Costco. As someone who has visited Costco more times than I can count, I can also confirm that I've never seen a price checker inside the warehouses I've visited before.
"I spotted this new price checker at Costco. It was located up at the front, right before the cash registers. This is the first time I've ever seen anything like this at Costco," @costcoempties said.
While Costco is far from the first retailer to offer in-store price scanners, the feature does have the potential to make the Costco shopping experience so much easier. For example, Costco warehouses encompass a whopping 146,000 square feet on average and some warehouses are as large as 230,000 square feet. So if a shopper realizes that they forgot to check the price of an item in their cart, a price checker can save them the annoyance of either flagging down an employee for a price check or having to track back through the massive warehouse themself.
In the comments section under the video, several shoppers and self-identified employees backed up just how helpful a price checker can be.
"You'd be surprised at how many people ask me to look up a price for them. Many times, members will find random items on the floor that are not in the original location," one alleged employee commented.
Another noted that the sign for certain items "does not always get updated when the price gets marked down," so having a price checker available can help members confirm whether the listed price is correct.
Costco did not immediately respond to our queries on whether it is installing price checkers at any additional locations right now.
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