Costco Partners with JD.com as Exclusive China E-commerce Partner, Non-Members Pay 20% Markup

Costco has entered into a partnership with JD. com, making JD. com its exclusive official e-commerce partner in China. The Costco flagship store on JD. com offers approximately 700 products, covering core categories such as snacks, condiments and seasonings, and household and personal care items. The store began trial operations in May 2026 and has already attracted over 270,000 followers.

Non-members can place orders directly for Costco products, but must pay a price 20% higher than the member price. For example, the store's top-selling item—crispy rice crackers with over 20,000 packs sold—is priced at 59.88 RMB for non-members versus 49.9 RMB for members. The second-best seller, pistachios, is priced at 143.88 RMB for non-members and 119.9 RMB for members. Delivery has expanded from store vicinity to nationwide, with Costco and JD Logistics jointly covering over 2,800 districts and counties across the country. Costco stated that by opening the non-member purchase channel and implementing a dual-pricing mechanism, it allows more consumers to first experience the products and services before deciding whether to join the membership program.

Costco operates only seven physical stores in mainland China, with six located in the Yangtze River Delta region and one in Shenzhen. According to the "2026 China Supermarket Top 100" list published by the China Chain Store & Franchise Association, Costco China recorded sales of 10 billion RMB in 2025, a year-on-year increase of 14.9%. In comparison, Sam's China opened 10 new stores in 2025, bringing its total to 63, with omni-channel sales exceeding 140 billion RMB and over 10.7 million paid members.

Costco Global CEO Ron Vachris visited the company's Shenzhen and Nanjing stores from late June to early July 2026, marking his first trip to China since assuming the role in 2024. In its fiscal third-quarter earnings released on May 28, 2026, Costco reported total revenue of 70.53 billion USD, up 12% year-on-year, and net profit of 2.19 billion USD, up 15% year-on-year. As of May 10, 2026, Costco operated 928 warehouses globally.

Regarding offline expansion, Costco shared a store-opening target in late 2025, planning to add nine new stores in mainland China between fiscal 2026 and 2030, with five in South China and four in East China, though this information has not been officially confirmed by Costco. Sam's Club entered China in 1996, opening its first store in Shenzhen, and had only 12 stores in its first 20 years. Costco CFO Gary Millerchip stated during the fiscal second-quarter earnings call that the approach to opening its first warehouse store in China is the same as entering any other country: first open a few stores, understand the local culture, learn the business model, and then enter a period of good, stable growth.