Costco reveals petrol prices as it opens a gas station in West Auckland

Costco has revealed its gas prices for its gas station in Westgate, which opens this morning.

The American giant will sell 91 at $2.50 per litre, 95 at $2.60 per liter and diesel at $2.10 per litre.

The price is lower than neighboring Pak’nSave, whose gas station sells 91 for $2.69, 95 for $2.85 and diesel for $2.29 to shoppers in the supermarket. according to Gaspy.

Another nearby gas station, the Mobil at Don Buck Rd, had 91 for $2.73 and 95 for $2.91 this morning, while another local station, Challenge Massey, had 91 for $2.66 and 95 for $3.06.

The catch: the 27 self-serve pumps at the Costco gas station are only available to Costco members.

An annual membership costs $60 or $55 for businesses.

So far, the only way to register is to join a queue of up to 90 minutes at Costco’s temporary administrative office in Westgate, but the retailer says an online option is on the way.

The first wave of cars arrived at 9:20 a.m.

The gas station is opposite the $100 million Costco store in Westgate, which Australia-NZ retailer boss Patrick Noone says will open in late August.

As in Australia, Costco partners with Mobil for the distribution of gasoline.

No one said how many people bought Costco memberships, but said the figure was in the thousands.

In its recent report on competition in supermarkets, the Commerce Commission said: “Woolworths NZ [owner of Countdown] also told us that Costco is considered a ‘destination store’ and that they have seen Australian analysis suggesting that Costco stores have in-person catchment areas of around 25km.”

This is for general shopping. Across Tasman, a New South Wales state government report found that Costco was influencing petrol prices within a 5km radius of its stores.

Costco is also planning stores in Wellington and Christchurch, subject to the performance of its Auckland operation.

Costco’s 2021 annual report says its 636 gas stations account for 9% of its $163 billion in worldwide revenue (as of December 2021, Costco had 828 stores or “warehouses” as it calls them, including 677 in North America. North, 29 in the UK and 13 in Australia).

In Sydney, where there are three Costcos, the retailer typically sells 10 to 20 cents a liter cheaper than other gas stations (before loyalty programs), according to Pricepy data.

A 2020 Houston Chronicle report said the giant retailer sometimes uses fuel as a “loss leader”, selling 20 to 30 cents per gallon (3.7 liters) cheaper than traditional gas stations to attract customers. customers to the rest of its business. And in a March 11 article on the Ukraine crisis highlighting “cheap gas” at Costco and other major retailers, the Wall Street Journal said, “Big box retailers plan to entice consumers with cheaper gas and have them walk away with a load of groceries too.”