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submitted 1 month ago by return2ozma@lemmy.world to c/news@lemmy.world
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[-] cynthorpe@discuss.online 83 points 1 month ago

I shop at Costco. I don’t mind scanning my card. I suspect anyone who shops at Costco does not care one way one another. This isn’t news, and anyone getting irate about this should find a new topic.

[-] ShepherdPie@midwest.social 18 points 1 month ago

Agreed. The only change is a machine scanning your card rather than a pair of eyeballs.

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[-] capt_wolf@lemmy.world 17 points 1 month ago

I literally don't see the difference. My card gets checked by a person up front anyway. Who cares if it's now digitally scanned?

Now give me the option to skip the line by scanning and paying for my stuff via phone and the only person I absolutely have to interact with is the one who checks my cart as I'm leaving.

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[-] dariusj18@lemmy.world 61 points 1 month ago

I am confused, don't they scan your card before you check out?

[-] Zikeji@programming.dev 87 points 1 month ago

Yes, but you're more likely to run into an irate person when you turn them away with a cart full of groceries then you are if you turn them away at the door. Plus it reduces the wasted time of employees who have to unload said cart.

[-] CPMSP@midwest.social 7 points 1 month ago

Yep, I think this is part of the answer.

I'm guessing another is identifying which members are primarily using membership card and cash, membership attached to an alternative FOP from their in-house charge (Citi currently), and digital native customers who are all in on the ecosystem.

Those data points can be used in several manners as Costco can glean valuable marketing insights into their customer base, their shopping habits, and their frequency. More than likely it will be used in ongoing in-house charge provider negotiations to ensure favorable terms for offering their services exclusively.

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[-] SchmidtGenetics@lemmy.world 6 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Makes more profit to let them through than to refuse them at that point.

Also, let them through and they may get a membership for next time, refuse them and they are never coming back.

[-] cynthorpe@discuss.online 27 points 1 month ago

They don’t need their business, and no one at Costco wants them in the store.

[-] BakedCatboy@lemmy.ml 21 points 1 month ago

Then what stops anyone from just never getting a membership?

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[-] NotMyOldRedditName@lemmy.world 17 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

When you look at Costco earnings, almost all of their net profit is the membership fees.

[-] LordKitsuna@lemmy.world 9 points 1 month ago

It's literally not more profit for them, especially depending on what the person is buying. Costco is able to offer lower prices than a lot of other places specifically because the memberships help make up for what would otherwise be losses on margins

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[-] Botzo@lemmy.world 19 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Apparently the issue is cheaters using the self-checkouts according to the employee I talked to.

So now we all have to jump through more hoops instead of having another cashier or two. Ironically, there were extra staff at the door enforcing the scanning.

The scanning is also supposed to bring up your picture for identification.

They don't have a picture for me on file and gave me crap when I scanned. I just showed them my license and went on my way. I don't need my face linked to my name all over the internet when they get hacked next year.

[-] partial_accumen@lemmy.world 26 points 1 month ago

They don’t have a picture for me on file and gave me crap when I scanned. I just showed them my license and went on my way. I don’t my face linked to my name all over the internet when they get hacked next year.

I get that, but its a private club. If its part of their membership rules your choices are comply or not be in the private club.

[-] Botzo@lemmy.world 10 points 1 month ago

Yep, totally get it. I'll squeeze by as long as I can for the sake of privacy.

[-] protist@mander.xyz 6 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

To be frank, it's foolish to think your face isn't already attached to your name in innumerable databases, public and private. Costco even has cameras looking at you throughout the store and at the registers. You are not anonymous

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[-] Makeitstop@lemmy.world 8 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

The article makes it sound like they are doing this to speed up check out, and also to stop people from abusing the cheap hot dogs.

The only other thing I can think of is the possibility that people are getting in with expired cards to bypass the single guest per member limit, and then pooling their purchases once they're inside at the self checkout. Seems like a bit of a stretch, but it could happen.

[-] littletoolshed@lemmy.world 11 points 1 month ago

But you do not need a membership card to access the food court, and in some states the food court is actually outside of the entrance. So I am going to have a little bit of doubt in the idea that this has anything to do with hotdog abuse. No offense intended!!

[-] littletoolshed@lemmy.world 7 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

I just saw below it maybe varies from state to state on the food court - https://lemmy.world/comment/11638385

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[-] Snapz@lemmy.world 36 points 1 month ago

Hot dogs aren't wrapped anymore and buns got smaller. Fuck the new guy.

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[-] takeda@lemmy.world 21 points 1 month ago

The scanners also spare Costco employees from having to ask shoppers for membership cards at registers and self-checkout, speeding up the process of entering and checking out, the Galanti told CNN.

Wait, one of the things is that Costco has is that it actually stores purchases on your account (this is especially useful for returns).

How do they connect purchase with your account?

Does this mean that they will use facial recognition? That's not that cool...

[-] Zahille7@lemmy.world 9 points 1 month ago

You scan your card before you purchase any items, so that's how that works. It's not facial recognition.

[-] Sesudesu@lemmy.world 13 points 1 month ago

Did you read the quoted text that provides context that makes your response not helpful?

[-] tmyakal@lemm.ee 8 points 1 month ago

But if you're not scanning your card with the checkout, how do they know what you purchased? Scanning on entrance just confirms that you entered the store, while scanning with checkout was used to confirm what you purchased on that trip.

Unless you're using a Costco-issued card at checkout, too, I would have same question. And if you are still scanning at checkout, then this isn't the time-saver they're purporting.

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[-] tehmics@lemmy.world 8 points 1 month ago

Same way all the other stores do? With your card number

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[-] EmpathicVagrant@lemmy.world 17 points 1 month ago

Are they changing policy that the food court and pharmacy are accessible to everyone? That’s in my membership agreement.

[-] afox@lemmy.world 6 points 1 month ago

Saddest day of my life not being able to get a hotdog without a card. Woman literally laughed in my face and said well if you're too cheap... I wanted to go home and sic my wife on her. But I'm petty like that. A month a ago and I'm still so but hurt. Like why insult me and my finances?

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[-] Ensign_Crab@lemmy.world 15 points 1 month ago

Boo. I'd been using an expired card to get in to buy pizza.

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[-] TwinkleToes@lemmy.ca 14 points 1 month ago

Is the real play here to try and make account sharing more difficult? Encourage more membership purchases?

Been a shopper there for 30 years - they're not a company that makes changes willy nilly. Even if you can get into the store without a card, you can't buy anything without one. Surely the cost of sneaky samplers isn't the main thrust of this.

[-] MrNesser@lemmy.world 10 points 1 month ago

Costco in the UK have been scanning cards since covid. It started as a way to limit numbers in store then someone probably went and looked at the data.

[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 9 points 1 month ago

Velcome to Costco. Your papers, please.

[-] hddsx@lemmy.ca 15 points 1 month ago

It’s a paid membership system. What makes you think you have the right to go in without a membership?

Do you bust into private gyms and demand to work out without paying?

Get outta here

[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 8 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Because browsing isn't buying. You absolutely can go into a gym and check it out without a membership.

Edit: Expecting me to buy a Costco membership before I can see things like whether or not they're keeping the place clean and their produce fresh is unreasonable in my opinion,

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[-] cdf12345@lemm.ee 6 points 1 month ago

You cannot have alcohol or pharmacy locked behind memberships. So they have to let you in.

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[-] AFKBRBChocolate@lemmy.world 8 points 1 month ago

They're are two stores close to me, and I've been to both of them this week. One of them had the scanner, the other didn't. I'm not really sure how it helps them, but it didn't hold me up any either.

[-] Lemming6969@lemmy.world 7 points 1 month ago

They cannot enforce this unless they remove the pharmacy. Just refuse and walk in.

[-] hydrashok@sh.itjust.works 9 points 1 month ago

Or don’t be an ass to the person just trying to do their job and tell them you’re there for a prescription.

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[-] sirspate@lemmy.ca 6 points 1 month ago

They've already been doing it for a month up here in Ottawa, Canada

[-] hesusingthespiritbomb@lemmy.world 6 points 1 month ago

I wonder if this is a way to get rid of the two greeters at the door.

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this post was submitted on 07 Aug 2024
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