In China, there is no supermarket that can drive to you for an hour. Even if you queue for several hours and raise the entry threshold, you can't stop you from rushing to get there. But how can Costco continue to attract consumers after passing the popularity period?
Text/Photography｜ "Chinese Entrepreneur" reporter Xu Shuo
Editing｜Xu Tan
On August 29, on the third day of the opening of Costco (Costco, the largest chain member-based warehouse mass sales store in the United States) was finally slightly cleared, but from the Gaode map, the last 800 meters left was blocked into red.
On the first day of opening, the entire Lianyou Road and the Minhang Road that intersected it were blocked into purple-red. It took 3 hours to wait for a 5-minute journey to get lucky to enter the parking lot of Costco. The store is even more crowded, comparable to the Spring Festival travel rush, so that Costco received a notice from relevant departments in Shanghai that it had to suspend business and rectify the business on the afternoon of the opening day.
But this still did not block people's enthusiasm. Three days after opening, even though Shanghai was shrouded in rainy weather, the number of people queuing to enter Costco still increased. Some even started queuing since the early morning, just to wait for the moment when the door was opened, and rushed in to "sweep the goods", while those who later could only continue to queue, ranging from an hour to two hours. Seeing the "winners" full of loads, they were still thinking about whether they could grab the "purchase-limited" Maotai and Wuliangye .
no matter what, Costco is nothing more than a warehouse-style membership supermarket. Like Metro more than 20 years ago, only those who hold membership cards are eligible to enter. However, compared with Metro's B-side customers, the time, place, and even people choose to enter China are more clear.
Source: IC photo
In 2017, Costco first launched the Tmall flagship store and entered the entrance to China through online opening; as soon as the news that Costco offline stores were about to open in 2019 attracted strong attention, not to mention that on the eve of opening, the membership card of Costco only costs 199 yuan/year (299 yuan/year when it was opened). According to the staff of Costco, the number of members has exceeded 100,000 so far.
Source: IC photo
When you enter the door, the first thing that attracts you is the luxury goods area. When the reporter of "Chinese Entrepreneur" visited, he could no longer see the Hermes bag that was snatched on the first day of opening, and the messy exhibition stand. Luxury bags such as Chanel and Prada are all put into glass cabinets for people to choose from, and the price is slightly cheaper than purchasing agents. The price of some light luxury perfumes is nearly one-third cheaper than that of shopping malls.
even electronic products. The iPhone Xs 256g mobile phone on the official website of Apple still costs 9,599 yuan, while in Costco, the same phone only costs 7,699 yuan.
Enter Costco You will find that the volume of all products is two to three times larger than other supermarket products, and the price is comparable to the wholesale price. Dairy products are even placed in a huge cold storage, and everyone who goes in to buy dairy products is trembling.
paper towels sold in boxes and laundry detergents sold in buckets are not fresh, even the packaging of cakes, croissants and other foods.
There are also some discordant scenes on the shelves. For example, some of the sliced bread that should be sold in bundles are disassembled and even have traces of suspected bites. queuing with
is a common phenomenon here. In the baking area, most people don’t care whether they can finish it or not. Anyway, they need to queue up for half an hour to buy bread, which is delicious and affordable. "This bread is very cheap, and it is made on the same day. Everyone seems to have to purchase a limited purchase, so of course they have to buy it and try it." The aunt who was at the front of the line said that not only bread, but she also had to cook roast chicken later. They all came, and of course they had to buy all the affordable things.
In order to find the "legendary" cheap Moutai, many consumers have gone around the wine area and found out after several inquiries that as early as the first day of opening, Moutai and Wuliangye were sold out, and the sales area has been occupied by other liquor products. In the end, they can only see the "style" of Moutai in the display glass Taichung in the red wine area. Of course, consumers will not return in disappointment, and they have more choices to make up for the shortcomings of losing Moutai.
Actually, it is interesting to take a closer look at the storage of Costco. Although there are four layers, except for the first layer that belongs to the goods sold, the other layers are in stock, but the items on each layer of shelves are different from the first layer, and the types of each other are also different. For example, in the area where kitchen and bathroom cleaning supplies are sold, the storage layer includes toys, furniture, and even barbecue grills.
sales layer display products, and similar items cannot be found in the similar storage layers. "We have our own traffic line design, which can facilitate personnel to replenish goods. In addition, the sales areas of many items will be adjusted regularly, so there is no need to worry about replenishment." The staff member of Costco told China Entrepreneur, but it has only been a few days since the opening, so there is no need to involve adjustment issues.
In order to speed up the checkout process, Costco not only has 22 checkout stations, each checkout station is also equipped with two staff members, one is responsible for scanning the code to checkout, and the other is responsible for helping customers load items. Even the shopping cart after checkout is placed neatly and then handed back to consumers. From the perspective of user service, Costco is indeed far better than ordinary supermarkets.
Even consumers who are fully loaded will shake their heads and say that they will not be able to do so. "The cost is too high. Although some things are indeed cheaper than those outside, taking into account the driving time, queuing time, plus the fuel cost, parking fee, and the discounted money, it is better to buy them in a supermarket near home." A local Shanghai uncle with a shopping cart filled with the same type of nuts said, "It's far and troublesome."
How can you let go of the low-priced brand box? A man put two sets of boxes on the shopping cart without saying a word and wanted to be a rational "soldier".
Although it is too early to talk about whether Costco can adapt to the Chinese market. But in the Chinese market, convenience stores, small supermarkets, and community stores have long invaded every corner. Users can buy fresh and urgently needed items at the closest distance. Even if they stock up, there are large online shopping festivals such as Double 11. They are shipped directly to their homes. How often will consumers go to Costco and come to stock up? How can Costco continue to attract consumers after passing the popularity period?
