Add a Sam’s Club membership to the list of subscriptions that keep getting more expensive.
The Walmart-owned warehouse club announced Wednesday that it is raising its annual membership fee by 11 percent — from $45 to $50 — starting in October. This is the first fee change in nine years.
The price of a premium membership plan will also increase from $100 to $110 for the first time since the plan was introduced in 1999.
Sam’s Club said it will offer $5 rewards to Prime membership shoppers and $10 to Prime customers as a renewal bonus after the price jump takes effect.
The last Sam’s Club in Massachusetts closed in 2018 when the company closed over 60 stores across the country, but there’s one just north of the border in Hudson, New Hampshire. There is also a Sam’s Club in Concord, New Hampshire.
Regular membership at rival Costco, the largest warehouse club, costs $60. Costco typically raises the membership price every five years. His last hike was in 2017.
Warehouse clubs gained market share during Covid. More consumers shopped online during the shutdown as fear of contracting the virus kept many shoppers away from the crowds.
Sam’s Club and BJ’s even added same-day curbside pickup for customers who shopped online. Club stores gained 0.5 percent of market share in 2020 and 0.5 percent in 2021, adding up to about $16 billion, according to IRI data. They also have the fastest sales growth in 2021 compared to 2020 among all retail channels.
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