By Melissa Repko

Copyright cnbc

Costco’s Millerchip told CNBC that its average age of members has fallen, and just under half of its new members that sign up each year are now under age 40. He said the club’s popularity during the Covid pandemic, the ease of digital sign-ups and increased social media attention on Costco all contributed to that trend.

Customers between the ages of 25 and 34 are the fastest growing spending segment of the club channel when it comes to merchandise outside of the grocery department, according to market research firm Circana.

That age group’s spending on general merchandise at clubs rose by 3% for January to July 2025 compared to the same period in the year prior, according to Circana, which tracks checkout data across retailers.

All three warehouse clubs have broadened their merchandise and bulked up digital options, particularly since the Covid pandemic, said Marshal Cohen, a chief industry advisor for Circana.

Along with lower-priced private label versions of items like olive oil and paper towels, clubs carry children’s clothing and back-to-school supplies, sell giftable items like jewelry and offer lower-priced health and wellness items like hearing aids, contact lenses and vitamins. That’s given shoppers more reasons to return to their stores and websites between stock-ups.

“They’re curating not only the brands better, but creating a better sense of adventure for the shopper,” he said.

Plus, he said the “great migration” of younger Americans during the pandemic from smaller apartments in cities to bigger homes in the suburbs or rural areas created a new customer base.

The improved merchandise at clubs has caught the attention and ire of competitors as well. Lululemon filed a lawsuit against Costco in late June, alleging that the company violated patents by selling lower-priced dupes of its athleisurewear including hoodies, jackets and pants.

Costco’s CFO Millerchip declined to comment on the lawsuit.

Clubs have drawn both young and more established brands that want to get picked up by the retailers.

Wellness brand Frida, best known for popular baby supplies like the NoseFrida, is exploring how its products could be packaged and sold in a club, founder and CEO Chelsea Hirschhorn said. She said the club channel has become more appealing as it moves away from generic products and adds more modern brands.

For some members, including Patrick Bannon, club retailers’ eye-catching assortment can be a danger to the wallet. The 29-year-old graduate student joined Costco about two years ago. At least every other month, he drives to a nearby Costco for a shopping trip — even though the drive can take 45 minutes in traffic and on weekend and evening visits, it can be tricky to “move your cart more than an inch without running into somebody.”

For Bannon, it takes creativity to squeeze bulk purchases into the cabinets, freezer and fridge space of the one-bedroom apartment in the Boston area that he rents with his girlfriend.

In his apartment, he has currently stashed away five different types of protein bars, two pounds of frozen vegetables, two one-gallon jugs of vegetable oil and three or four pounds of frozen chicken.

He signed up for Costco to buy cheaper groceries and staples like trash bags, but he’s wound up purchasing giant bags of snacks, a new brand of cold brew coffee and even khaki pants.

“You get to be a kid in the candy store again,” he said. “Except it’s not all candy.”