Costco Is More Than a Store. It's Becoming a Social Hub

Costco isn’t the first place that comes to mind when most people think about finding a place to socialize. However, the wholesale retailer, which is known for giant packs of toilet paper and shopping carts that feel like small vehicles, has reportedly turned into a bit of a social scene. According to studies, Costco’s social hub status includes people meeting friends there, taking dates there, bringing children, and even organizing group meetups at the food court.

That may sound like an odd cultural development until you look at what Costco actually offers. It is inexpensive, familiar, busy without necessarily being formal, and built around a recurring ritual. For a growing number of shoppers, those characteristics have turned an ordinary warehouse run into something closer to a social outing.

Costco As a “Third Place”

Sociologists use the term “third place” to describe a place outside of home and work where people gather regularly and build community. Historically, the term has referred to places like a church, a neighborhood park, a bar, or a community center. However, Costco, with its hundreds of locations and membership model, checks many of the same boxes that those places check.

According to Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData Retail, “While Costco's primary purpose is as a place to stock up on products, it has also become something of a social destination.”

The numbers help explain the findings of the recent study. Consumer analytics firm Numerator estimates that roughly 72.3 million U.S. households shopped at Costco during the past year, with more than a quarter of U.S. households considered regular shoppers who visit at least 12 times annually. The average Costco shopper makes about 31 trips a year, spending roughly $99 per visit.

People Are Turning Costco Runs Into Dates

For some Costco members, the social aspect is happening with relationships that already exist. Costco dating has become a popular trend among members. Arizona couple Lisa Bayless and Jeff Stitt have been married for 18 years and rarely shop at Costco separately. Bayless told USA Today that their trips have become a kind of shared activity, with Stitt pushing and unloading the cart while she guides the shopping. “It's sort of like date night, but it's an afternoon date with a purpose.”

The Costco community isn’t only about romantic relationships. For Analyse Talavera and Carmen Rene Smith, a pair of friends from Los Angeles, Costco trips have become a cheaper alternative to going out for dinner.

“Especially in this economy, instead of going out and dropping $200 on dinner, which Analyse and I are good for, we go to Costco and stock up on meal prep for the week and then top it off with a $3 fro yo,” Smith said.

The Food Court Does A Lot Of The Heavy Lifting

The Costco food court does a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to making the bulk retailer a social hub. Numerator estimates Costco members made 144 million trips to its food courts last year, putting the chain's food-court traffic on a scale comparable to major regional fast-food chains such as In-N-Out and Zaxby's. That’s a remarkable number for a store whose primary purpose is to sell household goods in bulk.

However, the Costco food court changes the rhythm of the visit. You don't have to rush out immediately after buying your groceries. You can sit down, eat something inexpensive, and talk. The shopping trip becomes an outing with a beginning, middle, and end rather than simply a transaction. The fact that the food is so affordable helps make the trip to Costco even more appealing, especially in today’s economy. Sitting down with a friend for a $3 frozen yogurt after a shopping trip is much less expensive than going to a standalone fro-yo place.

A Friday Hot Dog Became A 25-Year Tradition

Perhaps the most powerful example of the Costco community involves a group of Tennessee veterans who created “Camp Costco.” More than 25 years ago, two veterans began meeting at a Costco in Brentwood for a Friday hot dog. Over time, that informal gathering grew into the Middle Tennessee Veterans Support Group, now connecting a couple of hundred service members across generations.

Paul Napoli, a Marine vet who is part of the group, said, “Nobody cares what rank you were or what service you were in. Everybody mixes together.”

That last sentence may be the driving force behind the surge in Costco’s popularity as a community. People with memberships mingle, laugh, share a meal, and get great deals on household items.

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