Costco Shoppers Are Younger Than Sam's Club Shoppers Because Of TikTok
If you are a die-hard warehouse shopper, you may be intrigued to know that the first "Price Club" location opened in 1976 in a converted airplane hangar in San Diego, California (via Costco). The store sold its products primarily to small businesses. However, it decided to expand its sales and offered non-business owners the chance to shop at its store with a membership. In 1983, Costco opened in Seattle. A decade later, the two companies merged, with 206 locations at the time.
Today, there are 848 Costco Wholesale warehouses in operation across the world, with 120.9 million cardholding members. Members can shop in Costco stores and receive exclusive discounts on gas prices, vacation packages, prescription medications, and more. However, Costco doesn't hold a monopoly on bulk buying. One of its competitors, Sam's Club, has 600 locations, according to its website.
While there may be some division over which store shoppers prefer, Costco has one demographic covered. Thanks to the influence of social media, younger shoppers may be flocking to Costco over Sam's Club.
Social media has promoted the store
Costco has developed a large social media fanbase, according to CNBC, particularly on TikTok. If you're wondering why this is important to Costco's current shopper demographic, just look to Statista which shows that in 2022, seven out of 10 reported TikTokers fell between the ages of 18 and 19 years old.
The tag #costcofinds has 2.6 billion views, with some videos gaining millions of views. The tag #costco has 7.8 billion views. CNBC reports that the average Costco shopper is younger and tends to have a higher income than the average Sam's Club shopper. The younger portion of the shoppers could be partially thanks to the hype on TikTok, considering TikTok's users. The store even has its own TikTok account, though it has yet to post any videos, it currently has just under 57,000 followers.
There are several TikTok accounts dedicated solely to Costco finds on the social media app. User @costcobuys shares new and seasonal products that they find in their local Costco store. Another user, @costcohotfinds, has 1.1 million followers and shares exciting products that they come across at their warehouse.
Costco shoppers can find trending items
In August 2022, Entrepreneur reported that TikTok went crazy for big-name brands that could be found at Costco. Shoppers could purchase clothing from Valentino, Puma, and Tommy Hilfiger at some Costco locations. An entire account, @costcocouture, was created dedicated to these finds and has nearly 25,000 followers.
Moreover, TikTok has a massive #beautytips following, and Costco doesn't disappoint in that department. One post detailing a Costco Beauty Blender dupe (Beauty Blenders are all the rage) garnered nearly 80,000 likes. Aside from beauty trends, you can find tons of TikTok videos promoting Costco items to the younger generation. One video from @costcobuys shares a mini fridge/freezer buy, which is pretty perfect for college dorm rooms.
Additionally, Costco's own brand, Kirkland Signature, is one of the highest-rated store brands in the United States, per CNBC. Kirkland Signature sells a wide variety of basic items, including vodka, bacon, coffee, laundry detergent, and more (via Kiplinger). Many of these items are sold in bulk, and shoppers may be inclined to purchase their favorite items in larger quantities if they have the money to spare.