吸引回头客，Costco有绝招

互联网为消费者选购提供了极大的便利，同时大大增加了实体零售店维护顾客忠诚度的难度，如今这已经成为零售行业的准则。然而，作为一家拥有数百个会员店的企业，Costco却成功地打破了这一准则——电子商务对其零售业绩的贡献仅有3%。事实上，正是在维持数百万忠实顾客并且销售业绩节节攀升方面，Costco将其他零售商远远地甩在了身后。

公司首席财务官理查德•贾兰提表示，Costco的目标一直是提升销售业绩，并削减长期成本（通过减少运费、商品以大件形式出售、与供货商议价以及简化包装等），并藉此让会员享受到实惠。贾兰提说：“我们的经验法则是，将省下来成本的80%-90%返还给消费者。”这些举措得到了回报，2015年Costco会员人数创历史新高，达到了8,100万。

在忠实顾客的帮助下，Costco进入了《财富》杂志全球最受赞赏50家全明星公司名单，排名第16位，目前还在专业零售商门类中居于榜首位置。

It’s a retail axiom: The Internet has made it vastly easier for shoppers to hunt for the latest deal—and a lot more challenging for brick-and-mortar retailers to command loyalty. But Costco, which operates hundreds of members-only warehouses, has managed to defy the trend—with only 3% of its retail sales stemming from e-commerce. In fact, it outclasses other retailers when it comes to consistently increasing sales from its millions of faithful shoppers.

According to chief financial officer Richard Galanti, Costco’s goal has been to boost sales while cutting long-term costs (by trimming freight expenses, scaling its merchandise, negotiating prices with vendors, and reducing packaging) so that it can pass those savings along to members. “Our rule of thumb is to give 80% to 90% back to the customer,” Galanti says. Those efforts have paid off, with memberships reaching an all-time high of 81 million members in 2015.

Those dedicated shoppers have helped put Costco atNo. 16 on Fortune’s list of the World’s Most Admired Top 50 All-Stars, and it is currently ranked No. 1 among specialty retailers.

在过去的6年中，Costco的同店销售业绩每年都在稳步上升，推动公司营业额从760亿美元跃升至1,140亿美元。

以下是Costco的三大制胜法宝。

打造粉丝群体

Costco会员年费为55美元，其会员续签率达到了惊人的91%——创历史新高。分析师称，低廉的会费以及忠诚会员的定期光顾让Costco从众多仓储式和百货零售商脱颖而出。然而，仓储式和百货零售商仍在苦苦地争抢市场份额。与此同时，行业竞争格局也不断变化，线下实体店与以亚马逊为首的电商之间的竞争越来越激烈。

Baird Equity Research分析师皮特•本尼迪克特解释说：“Costco稳步提升客流量的能力是关键的制胜因素。”

最低薪资标准引领者

在涨薪方面，沃尔玛和塔吉特才刚刚起步，而Costco多年来一直是行业的领头羊。在Costco，员工时薪是11.5美元起，平均时薪是22美元，在行业中可谓是无出其右。公司首席执行官克雷格•杰林内克表示，从长期来看，降低人员流动率并充分发挥员工的生产力更有利于提升盈利水平。

放弃美国运通，转投Visa

2016年初，Costco的信用卡业务将与Visa合作，也为公司与美国运通之间的长期合作关系画上句号。尽管Costco对此事闭口不言，但分析师们表示，这一变化将降低Costco和持卡用户的成本，也是公司帮助顾客省钱的另一种方式。虽然这一变动不大可能对会员造成巨大影响，但Telsey Advisory Group预计，Costco可能会在2016年底或2017年上调会员费。（财富中文网）

译者：冯丰

审校：夏林

For the past six consecutive years, same-store sales have steadily increased, helping revenues leap from $76 billion to $114 billion.

Below, three ways Costco has kept its edge.

Building a Fan Base

Renewals of Costco’s $55 annual memberships stand at an impressive 91%—a record high. According to analysts, the low price of memberships and a steady return of loyal members is what sets it apart from big-box and department store retailers, which continue to fight for market-share gains in a changing landscape of increased competition from online retailers, led by Amazon.

“Costco’s ability to consistently drive increases in traffic is a key differentiator,” explains Baird Equity Research analyst Peter Benedict.

Minimum-Wage Trendsetter

While Walmart and Target only recently began increasing wages, Costco has been an industry leader for years. With starting hourly pay at about $11.50 and a company average of $22 per hour, Costco’s compensation trounces the competition. CEO Craig Jelinek says it can be more profitable in the long run by keeping turnover low and capitalizing on employee productivity.

Ditching American Express for Visa

In early 2016, Costco will hand over its credit card program to Visa V 1.00% , ending a long-running relationship with American Express. Though the company is pretty tight-lipped about the decision, analysts say the change will result in lower costs for Costco and its cardholders— another way the company is helping customers save money. The change isn’t expected to make a huge impact on memberships, but Telsey Advisory Group predicts a membership fee hike could occur in late 2016 or in 2017.