Costco is lowering prices on at least four of its Kirkland Signature private-label products after customers increasingly complained that the retailer’s house brand had become too expensive. The price reductions, announced during an earnings call last week, will cover food, home goods, and sporting equipment, with cuts ranging from $1 to $10 per item.
Customer frustration has been mounting on social media. One U.S. shopper wrote on Reddit that Kirkland Signature’s chocolate-covered almonds “used to be $17 then they went to $20. Now they are $27.” A Canadian shopper echoed the complaint: “I love the Kirkland brand 1.5 kg chocolate covered almonds. They’ve become too expensive,” according to FOX 11 Los Angeles.
Costco CFO Gary Millerchip did not specify what prompted the cuts but pointed to a precedent: when the company reduced the price of Kirkland Signature boneless chicken tenders by 13% in 2024, sales rose by 21%. The data suggests that price sensitivity among Costco’s membership base remains acute, and that strategic reductions can drive volume that more than offsets margin compression.
The Kirkland Signature brand, which accounts for roughly a quarter of Costco’s sales, has been a critical differentiator for the Issaquah, Washington-based retailer. The private label’s value proposition — premium quality at lower prices than name brands — has been central to the company’s $65 billion annual membership model. When Kirkland prices rise too close to national brand equivalents, the brand risks undermining the membership value proposition that drives renewal rates.
For Los Angeles-area Costco locations, which serve one of the company’s largest and most price-sensitive metropolitan markets, the reductions could provide a modest boost in foot traffic. The region has been hit by broader inflation pressures, with gas prices at $4.16 per gallon, up from $2.98 in late February, according to AAA data cited by Al Jazeera.
Industry analysts will be watching whether the price cuts signal a broader shift in Costco’s private-label pricing strategy or represent a targeted response to competitive pressure from Walmart’s Great Value brand and Amazon’s Amazon Basics line, both of which have expanded aggressively into grocery and household categories.
