As Costco fans, we watched a documentary by CNBC called, The Costco Craze.
It was interesting to see the reporter delve into all the reasons that Cosco is so successful with a loyal following.
The show focused on a few major points:
- low prices
- fostering a sense of discovery with unexpected, frequently changing items
- limited (but carefully reviewed) selection
These are all reasons I love the giant wholesaler. It’s a good deal, and they have cool stuff that is high quality.
The area that I probably appreciate the most is the fact that Costco does narrow it down for me. Instead of 10 brands to choose from on a given item: there’s usually 1 or 2. The reporter pointed out that shoppers were delegating their selection process to Costco. I know I am.
The show shared some vivid stats that illustrate this point:
- Grocery store: 400,000 items
- Wal-Mart: 100,000 items
- Cosco: 4,000 items
In a world where we are all overwhelmed, sometimes less selection is better.
I’ll address this more in future posts as Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind
