Costco Reports Solid Same Store Sales Gains In November

November sales at Costco were up more than 5% as the warehouse club also reported revenue gains for its 12-week fiscal year first quarter.

In the year’s 11th month, total sales were $21.87 billion, up 5.6%. Sales in the first quarter ended November 24 increased 7.5% to $60.99 billion. 

Company-wide comparable store sales excluding the impact of gas prices and foreign exchange rates were up 4.9%. By segment, comparable store sales in the U.S. were up 4.3%, up 5.7% in Canada, and up 7.3% in Other International. E-commerce comparable store sales were down 2.5%.

According to Costco, e-commerce sales in November were negatively impacted by an estimated 15%, due to Thanksgiving / Black Friday / Cyber Monday occurring a week later this year versus last year. Total and comparable sales were negatively impacted by approximately one and one-half percent as a result of the shift in E-commerce sales.

The company currently operates 897 warehouses, including 617 in the United States and Puerto Rico, 109 in Canada, 41 in Mexico, 36 in Japan, 29 in the United Kingdom, 19 in Korea, 15 in Australia, 14 in Taiwan, seven in China, five in Spain, two in France, and one each in Iceland, New Zealand and Sweden. Costco also operates e-commerce sites in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Mexico, Korea, Taiwan, Japan and Australia.