Costco is taking major heat from frustrated shoppers who say the checkout experience at the beloved warehouse club is stuck in the past.
While rivals like Sam’s Club and BJ’s Wholesale have long rolled out self-scan features, Costco is only just starting to test its own version, causing shoppers to vent over what they call “insane and archaic” lines.
The outrage comes as Costco continues to rake in massive revenue, reportedly hitting a whopping $268.78 billion for the twelve months ending May 31, 2025. But despite the rising profits, it seems customers are fed up with standing in long queues and are begging for the same convenience they’ve come to love at competing clubs.
“Costco, you’ve really got to invest in scan-and-go self-checkout. These lines are insane and archaic. It’s 2025, guys,” one user fumed on social media. The chorus of complaints is growing louder as more people compare their smoother experiences elsewhere, especially at Sam’s Club, where Scan & Go tech has been around for years.
For those not familiar, Scan & Go allows customers to shop in-store, scan items with an app, and pay digitally. Then, a store employee checks the receipt at the exit. Simple. Efficient. And apparently, “slick and quick,” as one Sam’s Club fan put it. Another shopper shared, “I loved it when we had Sam’s Club and I scanned my items as I took them off the shelves.”
The demand for convenience isn’t new, but Costco’s pace in adopting the tech has been, in the eyes of many, sluggish. CEO Ron Vachris recently confirmed that the Scan & Go-style checkout is currently being piloted in select locations, and initial feedback has been “extremely successful” in reducing wait times.
Vachris added that the company is “working on opportunities to further improve the member experience” and hinted that more pilot technologies will soon be tested to “help our members check out through our front end at a faster pace.”
But for many, those promises aren’t coming fast enough. Shoppers want the tech rollout sped up, and with good reason. BJ’s Wholesale, another rival in the warehouse club race, has already embraced mobile checkout with its “Express Pay” app. That lets members skip the checkout line entirely and pay via phone.
And while Costco remains the market leader, commanding about 62% of the membership-based warehouse club industry versus Sam’s Club’s 31%, its image may be at risk if it can’t match the ease that competitors provide.
Yet, despite the public outcry, some are still hopeful. “It’s about time. I’ve been waiting for this to come to fruition,” one shopper wrote about Costco testing the tech. “It’s a useful tool that I enjoy using at our Sam’s Club.”
Costco’s appeal has always gone beyond checkout speeds. Loyal members continue to praise its affordable food court, bulk savings, and that oh-so-famous Kirkland Signature line. But as digital convenience becomes more standard across retail, customers are expecting the best of both worlds, savings and speed.
The real test will be whether the wholesale giant can move fast enough to keep its tech-hungry customer base happy. Because in a world where you can buy a TV, pizza, and a kayak in one trip, no one wants to stand in line for twenty minutes just to pay for them.
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