A Costco warehouse store in Issaquah, Washington, is reportedly trying out the use of membership ID scanners at the entrance, according to Business Insider.
The business-news outlet partially confirmed two social media threads, one of which included a picture of the technology.
Business Insider also noted that the use of the scanners is already standard practice at warehouse stores outside the U.S.
At American Costco warehouses, though, customers usually enter the store and flash their membership IDs to a greeter who rarely checks it directly. The membership card must be scanned in before making any purchases.
In a statement to the Washington Times, Costco said, “A few Costco locations are scanning Costco membership cards at the entrance. This test is to match members to their cards at the door prior to shopping.” Costco did not specify which warehouses are scanning IDs.
In one Reddit thread over the weekend, a user posted a picture of a greeter, a scanner and a customer at the entrance of the Issaquah Costco. The scanner had a sign saying that customers would have to scan their ID for entry.
Business Insider reported Wednesday that it had “confirmed the location with the Reddit user who took a photo of the setup.”
A second Reddit poster also alleged the use of a membership ID scanner at the Issaquah location.
“Costco in Issaquah, WA is requiring members to scan cards as they enter the store. … the entrance lady said ‘guests must enter with the card holder,’” that user wrote.
Costco’s corporate headquarters are also located in Issaquah.
New initiatives are often tested at the Issaquah store before a broader rollout, unnamed Costco employees from other states told Business Insider.
The potential move to ID scans at the entrance comes months after an announced crackdown on ID use at self-checkout. Costco said that customers had been using the IDs of other people before making their purchases.
“We don’t feel it’s right that non-members receive the same benefits and pricing as our members. As we already ask for the membership card at checkout, we are now asking to see their membership card with their photo at our self-service checkout registers,” Costco told Insider in June 2023.
Company executives said that the use of other people’s IDs at self-checkout involved a small percentage of customers.
“It’s a really small percent of members who are doing it. But when you’re dealing with millions of transactions, even a very small percentage is something you would want to correct,’ Costco CFO Richard Galanti told the Wall Street Journal.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.
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