Costco: You can't learn my membership system.

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In recent years, entity enterprises have been constantly impacted by e-commerce, and Costco, a traditional retailer, has become the object of e-commerce learning. How did Costco succeed?

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In the past few years, traditional retailers have been impacted by e-commerce, and a large number of companies have either chosen to close their stores or been forced to transform.

Costco, a traditional retailer, resisted the impact of e-commerce and went against the trend. In the past 10 year, its market value increased by10.7 times, and it became the largest organic vegetable market, the largest automobile retailer and the largest wine retailer in the United States in 20 18 year.

As a traditional retail company flying against the trend in the tide of e-commerce, Costco was once called "the most worthwhile retailer" by Amazon founder Bezos.

Its success is closely related to the membership system. You know, Costco's membership fee income accounts for 2.2% of the total income, but it has created 70% of the operating profit. So, how does it do a good job of membership?

As a membership-based retail company, Costoco is only open to members. However, Costco's membership policy is very humane.

Taking individual members as an example, consumers can choose elite cards and ordinary cards, with annual fees of 120 and $60/year respectively, among which elite members can enjoy discounts such as 2% of the sales amount within one year.

If you apply for a Costco Visa credit card, you can get a cash back of $60. In addition, if the consumer cancels the membership card within one year, Costco will refund the corresponding membership fee.

Costco serves middle-class families and small and medium-sized enterprise customers with incomes of $8 million to $654.38 million.

Their time cost is high and they want to buy all the goods they need in one stop; At the same time, the pursuit of high-quality life requires high quality and high cost performance. Costco does these things just to serve them well.

1. Fermentation category

Costco only provides about 4,000 active SKUs, and each category has been carefully selected, only providing consumers with the best two or three "explosions".

What you sell is not rich but reasonable, as this sentence describes: "If Costco doesn't have these things, what you have at home is superfluous."

In other words, Costco has selected all the goods for you based on the big data that has been in operation for many years.

2. "Crazy" return policy

Some consumers have used videos to share on social networks that they have successfully returned rotten peaches, eaten a box of chocolates with only one left and bought clothes for several years.

This is because Costco stipulates that except for some electronic products such as computers, digital cameras and projectors, which need to be returned within 90 days after purchase, there is no reason to return other products, and there is no return period.

As long as there is a consumption record in your Costco membership card, you can return it.

3. Unlimited tasting of commodities and low-cost drainage

Costco provides nearly 30 tasting tables in each store, and consumers can eat in the store.

At the same time, the store provides price-raising drainage products all the year round, such as hot dogs with a price of 65,438 yuan +0.5 yuan and roast chicken with a price of 4.99 yuan, which attracts consumers and members to stock up.

4. The category is extended to life service.

Most people think that Costco is a large supermarket, but it is more than just a supermarket.

Many branches of Costco also set up tire maintenance, pharmacies, eye clinics, photo development, gas stations, baking houses, travel agencies and so on.

It is by providing the ultimate service for its members that Costco has improved the experience of its members, thus promoting the high renewal rate of users.

Today, Costco has 94.3 million members worldwide, among which the renewal rate of old members in the United States and Canada has reached 9 1%.

James Sinnegar, the co-founder of Costco, has integrated the motto of "doing the right thing" into Costco's operation for decades.

To satisfy customers, we must first satisfy the employees who serve them.

Costco is well aware of this, but the average hourly wage in American retail industry is 1 1.24 USD, while Costco pays employees $22 USD. At the same time, it also provides supporting medical endowment insurance and annual leave plan.

In 20 18, the retention rate of Costco employees reached 94%, much higher than the industry average.

Costco can be said to do its best to serve its members and enhance the consumer experience.

To sum up, Costco's membership service has the following three characteristics: