How To Get Your Costco Trip In Ahead Of The Pack Every Time

Legend has it that some rare souls feel their calmest in the clean, well-lighted aisles of their local supermarket. Perhaps you've seen one of them adrift in their own little world as they peruse the pre-packaged sweets in the baked goods section, or fondle ripe avocados in the produce aisle. For them, time spent in the grocery store eviscerates the concept of time itself, leaving them at their most free (per Her.ie).

These people are greatly outnumbered by the modern grocery shopper, who strives to be thorough in their weekly haul while spending as little time on the premises as possible. The trove of alternative shopping methods spawned by the pandemic made on-site grocery shopping sound even less appealing (and less safe) than The Before; why brave a crowd when you could order your weekly provisions online? But as COVID restrictions have eased up, more shoppers are cutting back on online grocery shopping and returning to stores in the flesh, per recent data shared by Grocery Dive.

Still, there has to be a middle ground between ponying up online grocery fees and spending way too much time in line at a packed grocery store. Luckily, if you're a regular shopper at Costco, you might be able to beat the rush-hour crowd. 

In a roundup of grocery tips for Costco shoppers, Reader's Digest suggests hitting up a Costco Business Center to avoid the rigmarole of standard grocery trips. While typical Costco Wholesale outposts open at 10 a.m., Business Centers clock in closer to 7 a.m. They're open to everyone, but the outlet explains that these stores (which are "organized more straightforwardly") cater to business owners who have to get up at the crack of dawn.

Keep in mind, though, that Business Centers aren't as plentiful as standard wholesale stores. The closest Costco Business Center to New York, for example, is located in Hackensack, New Jersey. Californians, on the other hand, have nearly a dozen Business Centers to choose from, including outposts in Sacramento, Ontario, and North Hollywood. 

According to Costco, Business Centers also feature a wider selection of beverages, which take the place of things like clothing, books, and sporting goods sold at typical Costco stores. Beverages are also sold in larger quantities, which could mean a 30-pack of Jarritos are in your future. 

In contrast to its bulk quantities of goods, Costco is known for its selective inventory. Thanks in part to its private label, Kirkland Signature, a typical Costco store carries fewer than 4,000 items. By comparison, a typical Target slings about 80,000 items, per The Motley Fool. While the chain is adding new products all the time, any mystery surrounding its stock has been unveiled by the Costco Food Database, which aims to catalog every item at the chain and comes complete with ingredient information and customer reviews.

Therein lies another reason to check out a Costco Business Center: According to the brand, more than 70% of Costco Business Center items differ from the typical inventory of its warehouse counterpart. That means Costco shoppers who pine for more variety might discover a new brand that they wouldn't find at their usual location. With extra time to wander the aisles in the early-morning hours, a trip to a Costco Business Center drops a little sunshine on grocery-shopping cynics.