observational essay- Ricky

A Consumer’s Haven

Costco initiated its legacy on September 15, 1983, when it opened its first warehouse in Seattle, Washington. A grey kingdom surrounded by rows and rows of parked cars, filled by satisfied shoppers and soon to be replaced by ecstatic citizens of all ages. This infinitely long building is filled with a variety of household necessities from fresh produce to socks. From afar, this grey rectangle does not catch the eye, but once one enters, a quick trip to buy some cereal can transform into an unexpected voyage into the vast ocean of wholesale.

In order for anyone to purchase anything from Costco, he or she must first become a member; this creates a feeling of higher importance within the shopper, so not only are you shopping, but you are also entering a clubhouse of sorts, in which only a lucky few million are a part of. The few first steps you take into the colossal behemoth of a store are like the first steps one takes as an infant: exhilarating, frightening, overwhelming- an inscrutable rush of feelings pours into your mind. What appears on the outside to simply be an unimportant warehouse, is in fact a haven for high-end consumers and simplistic-livers alike.

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As one walks through the store, the vast amount of space taken up by, what seems like miles of rows, one directly after another, separated by towering shelves teeming with boxes of items just waiting to be placed down below is overwhelming at first, but it soon becomes a standard to

which all other supermarkets do not live up to. It’s high-ceilinged, windowless complexion and only one main entrance and exit, makes the building seem more secluded and exclusive from the rest of the world, as well as keeping the shoppers focus on solely what they came for.

Their famous product samples- yogurt and granola, meatballs and barbeque sauce, clam chowder and crackers- is an experience all in its own. People come strictly to try the samples featured that day, and possibly to purchase one of the products being sampled. When someone says “samples”, Costco immediately comes to mind. The thing about samples is that one can experiment with food products that one normally wouldn’t buy unless one knew they liked it, so samples offer the choice to try out new things, which is exciting for consumers and successful for the business; it tempts the consumers impulse to buy by giving them a reason to.

Costco, although similar to other wholesale markets, is much more different than similar. Costco is very well known while competitors are small; Costco benefits the customer in many more ways than just selling product while competitors stick to the average store curriculum; Costco is a club while competitors are nothing more than stores. The satisfaction you get from shopping in Costco and the sense of wishing you would have gone to Costco from shopping at other places is what truly separates them.

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No matter where one is, there is sure to be a Costco around: as of September 3, 2010, Costco has 572 warehouses, and it most likely has built many more over the course of two years. Costco is big, revolutionary, successful. Its grand size and shear amount of product available and large amount of members joining every day and its continuous growth around the world has made Costco the famous wholesale retailer it is today. Costco is big.