Costco Wholesale is taking a ‘Netflix-style’ crack down on its membership policy in an effort to weed out non-members and card sharing between family and friends.
In the coming months, membership scanning devices will be used at the entrance to Costco locations in a bid to prevent non-members from purchasing items, it recently said on its website.
Once the technology is deployed, Costco said members will need to scan their physical or digital membership card by placing the barcode or the QR code against the scanner.
Moreover, if guests want to shop at Costco, they’ll need a member to accompany them in order to be allowed in the store.
“If your membership is inactive, expired, or you would like to sign up for a new membership, the attendant will ask that you stop by the membership counter prior to entering the warehouse to shop,” the company said.
Members should also remember to bring a photo or valid photo ID if their membership does not have a picture.
Costco’s membership crack down comes shortly after the retailer said it would be raising its membership fee for the first time in seven years. That increase is scheduled to take effect on Sept. 1.
The annual fee for standard Gold Star members will increase from $60 to $65. Meanwhile, the retailer’s executive memberships will nudge up slightly from $120 to $130.
Separately, Costco has been launching and doing away with some of its items. In July, it said it would sell food buckets that could last 25 years. In June, the Issaquah, Washington-based company said it would stop shelving and selling books because stocking them was too cumbersome.