Reasons to Read

As part of the Coresight Research Head-to-Head series, we dive into the competition between the two market leaders in US warehouse club retailing: Costco and Sam’s Club.

Costco and Sam’s Club (owned by Walmart) are the two biggest names in the US warehouse club sector, with both operating membership-based models and offering bulk products at low prices. These companies focus on value and efficiency, stocking a curated range of items in large quantities to serve both everyday shoppers and small-business owners.

We assess Costco’s and Sam’s Club’s revenue and margin growth in recent years, their shopper profiles and respective brick-and-mortar and tech strategies.

How do the two companies stack up, and which is best positioned for future growth and success?

Data in this research report include:

• Proprietary survey data on where warehouse club shoppers have shopped
• Annual sales and year-over-year growth for Costco and Sam’s Club, 2020–2024
• Operating margins for Costco and Sam’s Club, 2020–2024
• US store counts for Costco and Sam’s Club, 2021–2025

Other relevant research:

• Coresight Research Retailer Dashboards: Costco; Walmart
• Mass Merchandiser and Warehouse Club Shopping in Focus—Walmart Leads; High Purchase Rates for Daily Essentials: US Consumer Survey Insights
• US Mass Merchandisers, Warehouse Clubs and Discount Stores—Retail 2025 Sector Outlook: Essentials To Fuel Revenue Growth
• More coverage of mass merchandisers, discount stores and warehouse clubs
• All our Head-to-Head reports
• Visit the Coresight Research Retail Technology Hub to explore reports, data and competitive landscapes on technology.
• The Market Sizes Databank offers an overview of key retail market or sector sizes, including Coresight Research projections for future years.