8 Biggest Changes Coming To Costco In 2026

If there's one store that understands change, it's Costco. On the surface, the big-box supermarket feels like it's constant and unwavering: It doesn't seem to go for big, flashy alterations to its tried-and-tested offerings, and it understands that what people like about it is that it offers everyday items at good value. However, this retailer is constantly adapting to meet the needs of its customer base and to continue expanding and cornering markets as time goes on. It's this tendency that's contributed both to its ability to grow so solidly in the last few years and to stay a central part of the conversation in the supermarket world.

Going into 2026, Costco is not just one of the grocery chains that will be taking over, but it's also shaking things up in various ways. Its presence will be larger in the next 12 months, with dozens of new stores and alternative layouts being rolled out in certain locations. It'll also be debuting some new opening hours in key markets, adding new items to its much-loved Kirkland Signature line, and making the checkout line way less stressful for its customers. The future's bright for this supermarket.

Costco's Kirkland Signature range is one of its key offerings to customers — and it'll be adding even more Kirkland items you should be buying (and hopefully, none you should avoid) in 2026. The company announced its intention to continue creating new Kirkland Signature products for its customers in its fourth-quarter earnings call for 2025. The supermarket is very aware of how much value the line offers to customers, and as it enters into its 31st year, it looks to get bigger than ever.

The Kirkland Signature items that could debut in 2026 will build on those that the store created at the end of 2025, when it launched 45 new products in the line in the last few months of the year. These included a new viral find in the form of its caramelized blueberry cheesecake croissants and new food court innovations. The expansion of the Kirkland line is an important way for Costco to respond to the impact of tariffs, and it allows the store to better control the sourcing and manufacturing of its items. Having said this, you shouldn't expect to see hundreds of new Kirkland items immediately arriving on your local store's shelves. Costco is clear on its intention to only offer new Kirkland Signature goods if it knows that they'll bring genuine value to customers.

If you don't have a Costco store near you, and reading articles like this fills your heart with sorrow, then don't worry — that could all change in 2026. Costco's planning on opening dozens of new stores throughout the year, aiming for 35 in total by the time fiscal 2026 is up. Five of these new units will be relocations of previous stores. Come August (which is the month that marks the end of the fiscal year), Costco's store stock will be looking pretty healthy.

Building new stores is nothing new for Costco. In fiscal 2025, it opened 27 new warehouses, three of which were relocations, and it has almost 1,000 units worldwide. However, aiming for 35 in 2026 marks an acceleration in its expansion strategy. Costco's never been shy about wanting to be dominant, but it looks as though it's more set than ever to be a presence in everyone's lives. As always, Costco's keeping pretty quiet about where all of these new stores will be, but we're sure we'll find out pretty soon.

You may not know this, but Costco's more than just the place that you pick up your bulk-buy spices and toilet paper. The store also has several alternative offers to customers, including its business centers (which have an expanded selection of bulk items designed for establishments like catering services or restaurants) and showrooms. All of these are due to be expanded upon in 2026.

Costco's first appliance and furniture showroom debuted in Anchorage in 2024. The unit gives customers the ability to check out bigger items before they order them online, and it seems like the store's ready to build new versions of the warehouse elsewhere. Its business centers, meanwhile, are also set to expand. Some older warehouses may also be converted into business centers, representing a new offer to existing customers.

Finally, in 2026, Costco is set to premiere its first stand-alone gas station in Mission Viejo, California. It will contain 40 pumps, and while it won't have any of the standard bells and whistles of a regular gas station (like convenience food), it's still a great road pit stop, and will give you a great price on gas. Well, if you're a Costco member, that is.

If you're a Canadian Costco fan, you'll have way more time to enjoy all of its delights in 2026. In December 2025, Costco announced that it was rolling out new, extended opening hours for its Canadian branches. Well, not quite new — it already operates these extended hours during the holidays, but it decided that they were such a hit that going forward, they'll be permanent. Customers will now have an extra hour in the evenings on Saturdays and Sundays, with Canadian stores closing at 7 p.m. instead of 6 p.m.

This move echoes a shift that Costco made in the summer of 2025 for its executive members. The store decided to begin offering an additional hour to its executive membership customers in the mornings, allowing them to begin purchasing their goods as early as 9 a.m. While some people welcomed this change, opinion was slightly divided, and some non-executive members felt that they were getting the raw end of the deal. When you're paying top dollar, though, we guess you should get some additional perks.

Offering robust e-commerce options is a must for supermarkets in the modern age. Costco's need to do so is no different, and just because it's a bulk-buy retailer doesn't mean it needs to be online. The company clearly understands this, and going into 2026, it's looking to beef up its e-commerce avenues for customers. In its Q4 2025 earnings call, its executives spoke at length about how valuable e-commerce has been for the business (comparable e-commerce sales rose almost 14% for the quarter, an impressive spike), and how much they're aiming to focus on growing it going forward.

What that will look like is currently unclear, but Costco's been making some moves throughout 2025 that hint at its e-commerce focus going forward. The store recently partnered with GrowthLoop, a marketing engine that will allow the store to create more personalized offers for customers, thereby drawing people more immediately to its online stores and relevant products. It also rolled out messaging on its website throughout Q4 that directly tied in to customers' membership levels, and showed them specific benefits and offers that could be of interest.

If you're not a Costco member, but you still like to enjoy its food court now and again, your life may soon change for the worse. Going to Costco's food court as a non-member used to be allowed, and it would actually act as a funnel for the store, introducing new customers to the wonders of the supermarket (and its cheap hot dogs) and driving them toward membership. In 2024, though, Costco introduced new rules that stated that only members could use the food court.

People still found a way around this, though — and going into 2026, things are set to get stricter. At the end of 2025, customers began spotting new, not-yet-operational membership scanners in Costco's food courts. These scanners will apparently be used to verify whether you're actually a member or not, and they seem to be the final nail in the coffin for those who'd slip into the food court without staff spotting them. Importantly, some food courts already have these scanners, but they currently seem to be operating at outside locations only. In 2026, though, indoor locations will likely be subject to the new rules, and if you want your favorite food court items, you'll have to sign up. 

Costco's pharmacy is a big draw for a lot of people. Not only do you not need to be a member to access it (although being a member will give you the ability to gain additional discounts, one of the store's lesser-known benefits), but it also offers prescriptions at a lower cost than comparable pharmacies. In 2026, it looks set to get even more attractive for certain people. In October 2025, Costco announced a partnership with Navitus Health Solutions, a pharmacy benefit management company that works to implement cost-saving strategies for its clients.

As of January 1, 2026, Navitus clients will now be able to access cost-plus pricing at Costco for their prescriptions, thereby giving them a lower cost on medications. This pricing will be applicable when buying at brick-and-mortar locations and online. They'll also gain access to free same-day delivery via Instacart if they live within an hour of any Costco pharmacy. Given that Navitus's services cover nine million people, it's a pretty significant change.

Are you tired of waiting in the checkout line at Costco for what feels like hours on end? We bet you are, right? Costco knows that you are, too, and it's working hard to improve that irritation for everyone. Throughout 2025, Costco has been examining how it can improve and enhance checkout experience for customers, and in June of that year, it trialed its Scan & Pay system across a few dozen stores. This system allowed customers to scan items through the Costco app on their phone, and then pay once they were done, before being supplied with a QR code that staff members would check upon leaving.

At the time, Costco stated that it would roll out Scan & Pay across several high-density locations, should the trial be successful. Although things have gone a little quiet on Scan & Pay, Costco is now hoping that it can offer cashier-led scanning in its stores in 2026. Rather than customers scanning their items themselves, a member of staff will do it for them while they wait in line, so that when they get to the cashier, all they have to do is pay.