Costco Wholesale Corp.’s e-commerce sales jumped 32.2% in its fiscal year, ended Sept. 2, to an estimated $5.8 billion. The company didn’t disclose an exact figure.
However, online sales remain just over 4% of the retailer’s total revenue, said Richard Galanti, the retailer’s chief financial officer, during a conference call with analysts. During the last quarter, its e-commerce sales rose 26.2%.
Costco, No. 12 in the Internet Retailer 2018 Top 500, has added seasonal items such as patio sets and lawn care items to its online store year-round, helping drive members to the e-commerce site during the off season, Galanti said. More members are shopping online, especially those that have Costco’s Citi Visa credit card.
E-commerce growth also has come in from email campaigns that have improved awareness, and come with the benefit of driving more traffic to warehouses as well, Galanti said. Other drivers of e-commerce growth include expanded buy online, pickup in-store options, increased availability of high-end brands online and online grocery sales.
However, Costco isn’t trying to push shoppers online. “We don’t want to get comfortable at just shopping at Costco online, unless there is not a Costco within 100 miles,” Galanti said, according to an earnings call transcript from Seeking Alpha.
In other e-commerce earnings news, Stitch Fix Inc. (No. 59) generated $1.23 billion in revenue during its fiscal year, ended July 28, a 25.5% increase over the $997.1 million generated during the same period a year earlier. Quarterly revenue was up 23.2% year over year from $258.3 million to $318.3 million.
The online apparel retailer grew its customer base 25% to 2.7 million active clients during the last quarter. It also added more consumers to its addressable market with the launch of Stitch Fix Kids. However, its children’s division represents a small portion of sales, partially due to a larger-than-expected interest at launch that caused delayed shipments, said CEO Katrina Lake in an earnings call transcribed by Seeking Alpha.
Stitch Fix plans to launch international sales for the first time with its rollout in the U.K. next year. The retailer expects success there because it’s “a very apparel e-commerce-heavy audience,” Lake said. “It’s also an audience that is a little bit less discount-oriented than the U.S.”