Costco cracks down on membership entry

(CNN)– Costco is cracking down on membership sharing.

The company is testing a new system that requires shoppers to scan their membership cards when they enter the store.

This replaces shoppers showing their cards to employees when they walk in.

Costco also started asking for membership cards and photo IDs at self-checkout stations.

The membership model is critical to the company’s business offsetting expenses to keep prices low.

In a statement, the company said it’s unfair for non-members to receive the same benefits as paid members.

In 2022, Costco had about 66 million members and 119 million cardholders.