Costco wants you to check out in 8 seconds with new pay stations

Last month, Costco announced the rollout of a pilot program featuring new automated pay stations. They expedite checkout times to an average of eight seconds, per a recent quarterly earnings call for the second quarter.

CEO Ron Vachris explained on the March call that the pay stations let members pay for pre-scanned orders quickly, which has improved the flow of traffic for customers. It's received great member feedback so far, he said.

Members are turning to social media to show off the new method. Instead of unloading products, they're kept in the cart, and a Costco employee scans them before customers pay at the new station.

Online dialogue suggests that it works best for buyers with fewer items.

One TikTok user, Andy Shen, visited the Costco location in Issaquah, Washington, to try out the express pre-scan kiosks being tested, according to a video posted Monday.

Shen, who is a self-described "Costco fanatic" online, explained that an employee pre-scans the items in a customer's cart before checkout, then the patron is set to pay.

"This should be introduced in more stores and should make your experience a lot better," Shen said.

It is unclear how many warehouses are testing the new checkout method.

Costco didn't respond to a request for comment.

Competitors are also toying with their own approaches to faster checkouts.

Sam's Club, a membership warehouse club operated by Walmart, utilizes "Scan and Go" shopping. Customers can scan and pay through an app to bypass the traditional checkout lines. Instead, they show employees an exit code on the app to leave the store with their purchases.

In its second quarter, Costco reported a year-over-year jump in total revenue to almost $70 billion from about $64 billion. Both net sales and membership fees improved compared to February 2025.

Costco has more than 900 warehouses, including 634 in the U.S. and Puerto Rico.