4 Best Tips To Fly Through Costco's Checkout Line

To say Costco shoppers are a loyal bunch might be an understatement. Members of this warehouse retailer are privy to lots of benefits, including reduced gas prices, a wide selection of merchandise, and a tasty food court menu, all of which keeps them coming back. However, there is one oft-mentioned drawback of patronizing the store, and that is the massive crowd of shoppers packing the aisles. Crowded stores equal long lines, which equal a pounding headache and the need for a stiff drink once your shopping excursion is complete. 

While the chain does offer online ordering and same-day delivery, part of the fun of Costco is heading to your nearest location to see what you can find (looking at you, all-you-can-eat free samples). In this case, knowing how to navigate checkout lines as quickly and painlessly as possible can make for a more pleasant experience, and we're here with the best tips for shoppers. Smart strategies like visiting the store at specific times, carefully arranging items in your cart, and making use of new scanning technology will minimize wait times and shorten the checkout process. Popular stores like Costco are bound to draw crowds, but the right approach can get you out the door faster. 

Costco checkout stations are often a two-person operation, where one employee scans products while the other removes and replaces items within the cart. How you pack your groceries can facilitate faster scanning, which is why we recommend an efficient Costco hack to save time in the checkout. According to Reddit, placing items with barcodes facing up allows cashiers to scan goods while they're still in the cart, which eliminates the need to remove groceries just to scan them. While this hack certainly has its benefits, it may run afoul of Costco's theft prevention practices. 

Scanning items in the cart can result in the employee overlooking some goods (such as smaller items situated at the bottom), which can lead to unintentional theft. According to a Redditor claiming to be employed by the chain, "If we make you take the small stuff out it's usually not because we don't appreciate it, but there's probably a manager or supervisor nearby, and they don't like us doing this." Even with that consideration, wisely packing your cart will still save time. In the event the cashier must remove items from the cart, having the barcodes already showing prevents Costco staff from having to search for them while scanning. 

In addition to weekends, when many warehouses become zoos, Costco can also become incredibly busy on Mondays. As such, timing your shopping trip carefully can help you avoid big crowds and hopefully sail through the checkout with ease. There's some debate on the best day to visit Costco, but many members find locations to be less crowded Tuesday through Thursday. Additionally, you're more likely to find the items you're looking for, as most stores will have been restocked by Tuesday. 

So, what's the best time for your Costco run? Again, this is a bit contested. Some recommend visiting the store between 3 and 4 p.m., as you'll beat the evening crowds as people shop after work. Other people recommend getting to Costco as soon as your nearest location opens for the day. However, if you're more of a night owl, consider planning your trip right before the store closes. Hours may vary across warehouses, but our local stores are typically open from 10 a.m to 8:30 p.m. 

Costco stands out from traditional grocery stores in that you must be a member to shop there. The warehouse retail chain offers two membership tiers, a Gold Star card and an Executive card (which comes with a yearly 2% reward on purchases, plus other discounts). Upon entering the store, members are asked to present their cards to be scanned to verify their status. While these shoppers can bring along guests, only the person with a valid membership card is allowed to make purchases in the store.

It's commonplace to show cards at the register, including self-checkouts. According to Costco, this practice helps "keep our prices as low as possible because our membership fees help offset our operational expenses, making our membership fee and structure important to us." In this case, shoppers are encouraged to remove their physical card (or pull up the digital version) from their wallets before reaching the cash register. The sooner the Costco worker checks your card, the sooner they can begin scanning the goods in your cart. 

Scan-and-go technology is popping up at more and more retailers thanks to the convenience it affords. When shopping with this tech, consumers can scan items on their own using their smartphones, then pay for their purchases with the same device once they're finished shopping. At busy chains like Costco, with many stores receiving an estimated 350 customers every hour, the ability to scan groceries while you shop is downright exhilarating. 

Costco began testing a scan-and-go program last summer, and the chain has experienced success so far within its limited rollout. Consider that Costco locations with access to the technology have seen a 20% speed increase when it comes to the checkout process. While there's no indication of when (or if) this technology will make it to all stores, its initial progress sounds quite promising. Upon learning about the upgraded technology, one Redditor stated, "The lines at Costco are, by far, the worst part of shopping there. [Scan-and-go] is welcomed." While scan-and-go used to be a Sam's Club perk that Costco members envied, it seems that Costco is taking pains to counter its competition.