FOOD NEWS
The Reason
Your Receipt
Gets Checked
At Costco
By Crystal Antonace
Costco has dedicated employees, cheap on-the-go food options, and a select assortment of in-house Kirkland brand products, accessible only with a membership card. Among all the differences between Costco and a standard supermarket, one practice that may put some shoppers off is the receipt scanning that takes place at Costco exits.
Per Costco’s website, checking receipts helps verify purchases and look for mischarges while letting the retailer manage inventory. Employees double-check the item count listed on the receipt to ensure it matches the number of items scanned in respective carts. Moreover, the code at the top of every Costco receipt changes daily, so employees can't be fooled by past receipts.
The receipts are scanned for supervisor verification on big-ticket items and properly scanned bulkier items, as well as to help achieve low shrinkage numbers compared to other retailers. In the brand's 2021 annual report, Costco attributed its low shrink rate to its members-only method and the retailer's strategic layout of only one controlled entrance and exit at every location.