Costco Wholesale is expanding its shopping hours for customers with executive memberships starting next week, the company has announced.

Costco, known for its bulk sale of groceries and household items, announced that starting Monday, executive members will be able to begin shopping an hour earlier, according to a pinned Instagram post earlier this month.

Executive members will be able to shop from 9 to 10 a.m., Monday through Friday and on Sundays, the company said in its social media post.

On Saturdays, those members will be able to shop from 9 to 9:30 a.m.

The retailer charges $130 annually for executive memberships, according to its online pricing guide.

The expansion in hours will impact all stores in the United States starting next week, a company employee in the member services department confirmed.

Opening earlier for select customers is a reasonable tactic for a wholesale business that's seen increasing levels of foot traffic at its locations, said retail analyst Greg Melich, senior managing director at Evercore ISI, a Manhattan-based investment banking adviser. 

“They’ve had such traffic growth that a lot of the clubs get overcrowded," Melich said. 

Since the pandemic, the warehouse membership model has become more popular among consumers, Melich said, and companies like Costco have benefited as a result.

The company saw net sales hit $250 billion in 2024, and its membership base increased to 137 million cardholders last year, according to the company's financials. 

But with increased traffic has come issues with consumer experience and the "cannibalization" of other Costco locations, where in an effort to avoid crowds, consumers avoid their local warehouse location to buy at other Costco locations, Melich said. 

Despite a fee hike last year for members, the wholesaler's renewal rates have remained high, Melich said.

Costco has eight locations on Long Island: Melville, Commack, Westbury, Nesconset, Oceanside, Holbrook, Lawrence and Riverhead, according to the company’s online location tracker.