Readers who enjoy shopping for novels at Costco may be out of luck in the coming months as the big-box retailer is rumoured to stop selling books all year round.
According to a recent report from The New York Times, Costco will no longer sell books on the regular starting January 2025 and instead make them available only between September and December for the holiday shopping period in the US.
The New York Times report said four major publishing executives were told about Costco’s plans, and the changes could be tied to the labour needed to stock books.
That’s because books require staff to place them by hand and can’t be put out on pallets like other items at the store. The report adds that there is also a “constant turnaround” time for books as new ones come in on Tuesday and copies that don’t sell must be returned, which results in “more work” for staff.
Publishers expressed concern about how this could impact sales, as Costco often orders thousands of copies if a book is popular enough.
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While this change is expected across the US, Costco Canada hasn’t made any official announcement on the matter, and Daily Hive has reached out for more information.
Another change is coming to Costco as the retailer announced that it will increase its annual membership fees.
The increase will apply to members in the US and Canada and will come into effect on September 1, 2024.
According to Costco, its current Gold Star membership will increase from $60 to $65 per year, and its higher-tier Executive Membership will jump from $120 to $130 annually.
The company noted that the maximum annual 2% reward for the Executive Membership will also increase from $1,000 to $1,250.
Costco added that the change will impact 52 million memberships, “a little over half of which are Executive.” There are currently 108 locations in Canada.