Costco Wholesale ‘s same-store sales rose again, accelerating from July as a result of strong performances outside of the U.S.
Sales at stores open at least a year were 3.4% higher in August than a year earlier, the company said Wednesday. That follows a 2.5% increase in July. Stripping away changes in gasoline prices and foreign-exchange fluctuations, same-store sales rose 4.1%. Net sales jumped 5% from a year earlier to $18.42 billion, better than July’s 4.5% increase. Part of the increase came because more people visited Costco stores: Global comparable-store foot traffic increased 5.2%.
The U.S., where same-store sales rose just 2.8% from a year earlier in August, was Costco’s weakest market. Same-store sales rose by 3% in Canada, and by 7.3% across Costco’s other international markets. Many U.S. consumers have responded to higher inflation and interest rates by curbing unnecessary purchases, a shift reflected in the data from Costco. Essential categories performed better than discretionary ones, Costco said. Food and sundries were the strongest categories, while sales of sporting goods, home furnishings, and gardening supplies underperformed.Shares of Costco ticked up 0.3% to $543.63 in after-hour trading Wednesday.