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Costco customers spending more on Instacart than in-store

Customers who shop at Costco Wholesale Corp. using the retailer's partnership with Instacart Inc. are spending more than shoppers who only make purchases in-store, Costco's CFO said March 7.

Since launching the delivery service in October, Executive Vice President, CFO and Director Richard Galanti told analysts during a call to discuss the company's fiscal second-quarter results that customers using Instacart have on average also purchased higher-value baskets of goods than those who buy items using Costco's partnership with Google Express. Both services allow shoppers, including those without Costco memberships, to buy nonperishable grocery items from the chain, though Instacart also allows customers to buy fresh grocery items.

"It's been quite positive year-to-date and growing," Galanti said. Pressed by an analyst to quantify the difference, he said that the average basket purchased through Google Express was higher than in-store customers by "middle double digits," while the average Instacart basket is greater by "higher double digits."

Costco offers delivery through Instacart in 441 of its 519 U.S. locations and plans to expand the service to most others by the end of the 2018 calendar year, according to Galanti. Along with the same-day delivery service, it also began a two-day service for nonperishable food items in October.

Galanti also alluded to a new service related to checkout that the company is testing "at about 50 locations," though he did not provide additional details. In February, some Costco shoppers posted pictures of self-checkout kiosks at some of the retailer's stores in the Western U.S., which allowed patrons to order and pay for hot dogs, smoothies and other items using a touchscreen.