Costco’s New Price-Checking Feature Has Some Shoppers Upset
One of the nicest parts of shopping at a place like Target is the ease with which you can check prices on random items. Whether it’s through Target's app or in-store price checkers, you’re able to see a product’s price without having to flag down and bother an employee to do it. And now that experience is coming for more Costco customers with their newest price-checking feature.
Instagram account @costco_empties posted on Oct. 23 about new price checkers at their local Costco. The very popular Costco enthusiast account with over 105,000 followers—“Come along as I comb the aisles of Costco to curate a feed of the best finds” is in their bio—shared a Reel showing off a new price checking station. They captioned it with, “NEW Price Checkers @costco.”
Related: Target's $5 Christmas-Themed Glass Jars Have Shoppers Going Wild
While some Costco Wholesale warehouse stores have had price checkers in the past, the arrival of these new ones seems to point to the price-checking feature coming to more locations.
In 2022, Reddit users commented on a post in the r/Costco subreddit that their stores had price checkers. An employee responded that some states require in-store price checkers by law, which is why that was probably the case in some Costco stores already. However, not for Costcos as a whole, it seems.
As Aila Technologies reported, the states where some kind of price checkers are mandatory include Arizona, California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Mexico and New York. So if you’re located in any of the other 42 states, these Costco price checkers might be new to you.
While it’s definitely going to be a convenient way to see the price of something in your cart that your kid might have slipped in behind your back or just to check if the label on the shelf was accurate, some users on Instagram found some issues with the new price checkers.
Related: LEGO's Popular Thanksgiving Centerpiece Is Back at Costco
“It would be nice if they would have a hand scanner on these also, for the bigger items that are so heavy,” one person commented on @costco_empties’s post. “There a very few stores that have price checkers, and the stores that do, don't have a hand scanner with them. It would be helpful for everyone, especially seniors.”
Another customer wrote that lifting the heavy, bulk items in your cart to fit them under the new price checker is a lot of work.
“Sure its cool, til you have to lift that ish back out of the cart when you know it took jesus and all 12 of his disciples to get it in there,” they wrote. “But okay Costco, yall have fun!”
One TikToker mentioned a different feature that would be even more helpful instead: "They need to let you check in store prices in the app."
Costco is a bit different than Target and Walmart in the sense that they’re known to have large packages and bulk quantities of popular items. So that might be a bit of a hindrance with price checking on these new checkers. However, the convenience might outweigh the cons.
Next up, read up on how Costco is bringing back their popular ham-carving station for this holiday season.
