RESOURCES

Selling on Costco is attractive to brands and advertisers for a number of reasons. One reason clients at Marketplace Strategy are interested in the channel is its built-in loyal customer base. Not to mention, it has made it onto the list of top online retailers in the US by Statista. If you’re not already selling on Costco.com, there are several steps to take before getting to the vendor application. We suggest beginning by reaching out to your regional office to start the process. On the other hand, if you're preparing to sell on Costco.com or already have a presence, continue reading for content and creative best practices.

Content Best Practices for Costco

Content within the product detail pages on Costco.com is set up much differently than most other marketplaces. It also varies from product to product. However, most product detail pages include a balance of live text and imagery below the fold. It's important to note, to view the information below the fold, customers have to click in to to see more. With this, the most important pieces of content are the title and features because they’re the most visible. 

When writing content for Costco, there’s a lot of room in the features section to go into detail about a product and convince the shopper to purchase. Features are the list of three to five bullets where we address items like pack size, ounces, color, and other attributes of a product. 

Then, with product details, we've seen much variety between the different brands that sell on the channel. This is a section that includes both live text and imagery below the fold. For our clients, we usually offer a quick recap of information and work in keywords throughout the text.

Creative Best Practices for Costco 

There are several aspects of a product detail page on Costco that brands focus on, primarily the image library and enhanced content. The main image on Costco should clearly depict the product. For our clients, we try to always showcase the product inside and outside of its packaging within this image. Then, for secondary images, we highlight multiple views of the product. So far, we haven't seen a lot of text or lifestyle images used on Costco. However, we are continuing to test this for different categories. 

For now, video and enhanced content is managed through a third-party platform like Syndigo or Salsify. Video is a great way to show the product in use and other features and benefits. When a video is within the image library, you'll notice an indication that it's 'powered by' the syndication service. Enhanced content is seemingly connected directly to the product's description. It's very blended and offers shoppers a cohesive experience.

More About the Marketplace 

In addition to content and creative efforts, like any marketplace, using a holistic approach is wise. And, like Amazon, Walmart.com, Target, and others, there are nuances to selling on Costco. We've included a short list below to keep in mind: 

• Selling your entire product line on Costco isn't usually feasible. At least not right away. Costco is very selective and considers fast-selling models, sizes, and colors. 

• Costco's in-store shelf space and warehouse real estate are very competitive. 

• At times, Costco considers purchasing private-label merchandise. Again, what matters most is quality and value to its customers.

More About the Average Costco Shopper 

Costco's hyper-focus on quality is largely in part due to its shoppers' preferences. Shoppers become Costco members because of the variety of high-quality products at affordable prices. And, as we mentioned, shoppers are extremely loyal to Costco. In fact, according to Costco's annual report, its member renewal rate is nearly 90% worldwide. 

Another consideration worth mentioning is Costco's shopper demographics. The retailer has shoppers of a wide age range and younger members are shopping on mobile devices, including via social media.

Final Thoughts 

For a relatively new marketplace, it’s important to understand best practices and make a splash as an early adopter. We look forward to sharing more about Costco and other marketplaces on our blog and social media. Stay tuned for the next blog of this series featuring Target. 

If you could use the support of a strategic partner, schedule a free consultation. And, as an official Amazon Advertising partner, we’re here to answer any questions about your efforts. Finally, should you be interested in learning more about our clients’ results, explore advertising-related case studies on our website.