Americans are spending less time in Walmart and Target, but still staying in Costco. Here’s why.

Welcome to Costco. You’ll probably be here for a while (or longer than your target run, on average).

Thomson Reuters

• Americans’ shopping journeys are becoming faster as more retailers address speed and convenience.
• Foot traffic data shows that shoppers are spending less and less time at Target and Walmart.
• But at Costco—which in many ways resists modernity—the length of the trip is kept slow and steady.

For many (if not most) Costco shoppers, there is no such thing as a “short” deposit.

There’s certainly nothing that rivals the speed with which you can walk into a Target or Walmart, quickly grab what you need, and get on with your day. Heck, these two retailers will even bring it to your car while you wait, something Costco significantly doesn’t offer.

As is increasingly the case these days, there is a number to measure it.

The term is known as “dwell time” and refers to how much time a person spends in a location, such as a store.

Foot traffic data from Placer.ai indicates that while shoppers are spending less and less time at Target and Walmart, the length of trips to Costco remains largely unchanged.

“We’re seeing downtime going down for almost every retail category.” Placer.ai’s head of analytics research, RJ Hottovy, told Business Insider, pointing to shopper trends such as doing more online research before visiting, buying online for in-store pickup, and shopping at multiple different stores in search of offers.

Of the three retailers, Walmart has cut the most time from its customers’ visits, taking about 2.5 minutes off over the past three years.

And where Target’s average run was almost exactly 30 minutes three years ago, it’s now about a minute and a half faster, according to Placer.ai data.

Costco trips, by contrast, are slightly longer than before and are now nearly 9 minutes longer than Target’s current run.

In addition to changing consumer behavior, there are also strategic reasons from the retailers themselves for this difference.

Walmart and Target seek to be seen as the most convenient and cheapest places to get everything from groceries to household goods to clothing.

Costco is much more eager for shoppers to linger on the “treasure hunt,” where they load up on impulse purchases that quickly add up to $15 to $20 each.

“There is generally a correlation between longer wait time and a higher average ticket,” Hottovy said. “We see that the longer you spend in the store, the more likely you are to spend.”

After all, the mobile apps for Walmart and Target won’t just tell you if an item is in stock, they’ll show you exactly where you should expect to find it in any of their stores around the country. The Costco app, by comparison, isn’t as comprehensive.

And where Target and Walmart have loaded the front of their stores with shopping options, with more expensive and seasonal items in the back, Costco shoppers are typically greeted at the door with the latest deals on flat-screen TVs and appliances before to find high turnover items such as food and bottled water hidden in the farthest corner of the warehouse.

And while Walmart and Target’s approach leads to more frequent visits, Costco still relies heavily on larger-sized bins. Of course, any retailer would love to have both, but in this consumer economy, a choice has to be made. However, either approach can increase sales.

So the next time your Target run ends a little faster than you expected, or your Costco date stretches into overtime, remember: you’re not alone.

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