Costco extends its gas station hours in North America
Costco Wholesale Corp. has widened the window of hours during which members can fill up their vehicles. The move comes after a drop in comparable gas sales at the retailer during the three-month period ending Feb. 18, 2025.
"Gas comps were negative low single digits during the quarter, driven by the average price per gallon being down slightly," Costco CFO Gary Millerchip said in an earnings call earlier this month. Costco operates 900 warehouse locations worldwide, including 620 in the U.S.
"We also extended our gas station hours during the quarter to make filling up at Costco more convenient for our members. Generally, our stations are now staying open an hour later than they did previously with some opening earlier as well," Ron Vachris, president and CEO of the Issaquah, Washington-based warehouse club, told analysts during the call. "We have 60 U.S. gas stations going through different — they're at a different phase in expansions now," he added.
In a February post on Facebook, Costco touted the extended gas station hours running from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Monday through Friday; 6 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Saturday and 6 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Sunday. The expanded hours may vary for members who live in California and Hawaii, the warehouse club said.
The national average for gas prices started declining after April 2024, falling to $3.20 a gallon by September and hiking competition for Costco, which offers members low prices on fuel.
"We are seeing an improvement in overall usage of the gas station. So, it's early days, of course, but so far, we've been pleased by the member response," Millerchip said during the call.
