為何好市多有本錢置身配送軍備競賽之外

到目前為止，好市多（Costco）的當日配送大多是與 Instacart 合作，提供非常快速的配送服務，通常配送的是生鮮雜貨和其他生活必需品。（至於兩日配送，好市多通常自行處理出貨。）雖然與 Uber 和 DoorDash 的合作讓好市多的觸及範圍大幅擴大，但這些舉措也提醒人們：好市多的商業模式，以及這家會員制零售商所激發的強烈、近乎狂熱的顧客忠誠度，意味著它不必像競爭對手那樣投入配送軍備競賽。Until now, Costco’s same-day delivery has consisted largely of teaming up with Instacart for very quick delivery, typically groceries and other essentials. (For two-day delivery, Costco typically handles shipping itself.) And while the Uber and DoorDash tie-ups give Costco much more reach, the moves also serve as a reminder that Costco’s business model and the intense, almost cult-like customer loyalty the membership-based retailer inspires mean that it doesn’t have to participate in the delivery arms race the same way its rivals do.

好市多的狂熱粉絲並不是因為快速配送才到那裡購物。他們去好市多，是為了精選商品組合、具競爭力的價格、備受信賴的自有品牌科克蘭（Kirkland Signature），以及在巨大倉儲賣場購物時那種尋寶般的體驗；他們可能原本是在找內衣或麵包丁，卻意外發現一罐奢華的 La Mer 乳霜。Costco fanatics don’t shop there because of fast delivery. They shop there for its curated assortment, competitive prices, its highly trusted Kirkland Signature brand, and the treasure-hunt aspect of shopping in its cavernous warehouses; they might stumble across a jar of luxurious La Mer moisturizer while looking for underwear or croutons.

好市多對滿意顧客的吸引力之強，使得去年美國與加拿大會員的續約率達 92.3%。好市多截至 8 月的會計年度淨銷售額達 2,973 億美元，幾乎是 10 年前的 3 倍。Such is Costco’s hold on its satisfied customers that 92.3% of members in the U.S. and Canada renewed last year. Costco’s net sales for the fiscal year ended in August hit $297.3 billion, nearly triple what they were a decade ago.

GlobalData 董事總經理尼爾・桑德斯（Neil Saunders）表示：「電子商務對好市多很重要，但不像某些企業那樣是全部的核心。好市多的差異化也相當明顯，因此，雖然它確實與亞馬遜（Amazon）和沃爾瑪（Walmart）競爭，卻不像這兩家公司那樣深陷數位生鮮雜貨之戰。」“E-commerce is important to Costco, but it’s not the be-all and end-all in the way it is for some businesses. Costco is also quite well differentiated so while it does compete with Amazon and Walmart, it isn’t quite as involved in the digital grocery battle that those two are fighting,” said Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData.

更重要的是，好市多的商業模式，是讓其基本零售業務以損益兩平為目標設計，藉此持續提供會員所追求的低價。事實上，多數年份裡，好市多的會員費收入大致相當於其淨利。好市多平均每家門市販售約 4,000 種不同商品，沃爾瑪則為 10 萬種。這種精選策略讓好市多在與供應商談判時擁有取得低價的影響力。What’s more, Costco’s business model is designed for its basic retail operations to be break-even, so that it can continue to offer the low prices members seek. Indeed, most years, Costco’s membership revenue is roughly equivalent to its net income. The average Costco store carries about 4,000 different items, compared to 100,000 at Walmart. That selectivity gives Costco clout with vendors to get low prices.

好市多的利潤率原本就刻意設定得低，這意味著它在花錢時必須非常謹慎。因此，它選擇與其他公司合作提供當日配送，而不是像沃爾瑪（包括與好市多直接競爭的山姆會員商店（Sam’s Club）業務）、Target 和亞馬遜那樣建置自己的基礎設施。對好市多和山姆會員商店而言，這是特別重要的考量，因為這類大量採購零售商的配送貨品可能很重，也因此它們盡可能引導顧客使用路邊取貨服務。Its margins, low by design, mean that Costco has to be very careful about how it spends money, hence its decision to team up with other companies for its same-day delivery rather than build out its own infrastructure like Walmart (including its Sam’s Club business, which competes directly with Costco), Target, and Amazon. It’s a particularly important consideration for Costco and Sam’s Club given how heavy deliveries from these bulk retailers can be and why they steer customers toward curbside delivery as much as possible.

不過，這並不表示電子商務只是事後才想到的附帶業務。事實上，好市多的電子商務業務成長速度比門市銷售更快：在剛結束的會計年度，數位銷售（包括電子商務以及透過其應用程式完成的銷售）成長 20.9%，遠高於全公司可比較銷售額 8.4% 的增幅。Still, that’s not to say e-commerce is an afterthought. Indeed, Costco’s e-commerce business is growing more quickly than store sales: in its recently ended fiscal year, digitally-enabled sales (e-commerce as well as sales made via its apps) rose 20.9%, well above the companywide comparable sales uptick of 8.4%.

好市多執行長羅恩・瓦克里斯（Ron Vachris）在 2024 年告訴《財星》（Fortune），雖然電子商務是優先事項，但線上銷售成長不會以犧牲店內體驗為代價。與此同時，好市多也知道，電子商務對於吸引顧客，尤其是年輕顧客加入會員至關重要；而且即使他們喜愛好市多，透過配送取得一定程度的便利，也被視為基本門檻。Costco CEO Ron Vachris told Fortune in 2024 that while e-commerce is a priority, growing online sales wouldn’t come at the expense of the in-store experience. At the same time, Costco knows that e-commerce is essential to getting young customers especially to sign up for memberships, and much as they love Costco, a certain level of convenience via delivery is seen as table stakes.

菲爾・瓦巴（Phil Wahba）報導Reporting by Phil Wahba