Costco Wholesale Corp.generated net sales of $26.58 billion in the retail month of September ended October 5, up 8% from $24.62 billion in the year-earlier month.
Comparable sales, with the effects of gas price and foreign exchange volatility excluded, were up 5% in the United States, 9.3% in Canada and 7.5% in other international markets for a company total of 6% versus the September period a year earlier. Digital sales increased by 26.3% year over year.
In a conference call, Costco noted that comp traffic was up 1.4% in the U.S. Strongest sales regions were the Northwest, Midwest and Los Angeles. Non Foods comps were up high single digits, with top segments including jewelry, appliances and health and beauty. Food and Sundries were up in the mid single digits, while Fresh Foods were up in the mid to high single digits.
