Amazon has solidified its retail success with sophisticated pricing solutions, along with the convenience and “stickiness” of its Prime service. But in a head-to-head matchup with a key competitor, Amazon is a decisive loser when it comes to offering lower prices.
A study that matched prices on 38 commonly purchased items revealed that on average, Amazon was 56.48% more expensive than Costco. A consumer purchasing all 38 items would spend 12.1% more at the pure-play retailer vs. the 741-store club with 90 million members.
The study, conducted by LendEDU, compared prices on items at a Costco store in Long Island City, N.Y. versus Amazon Prime. Researchers sought the lowest available prices on Amazon.
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The widest price differential was found in the food and beverage category, where Amazon prices averaged 120.15% more than Costco’s. The total ticket for all items in this category was nearly twice as high at Amazon vs. Costco: 95.82% more.
In the technology category, Costco still beat Amazon, but by the narrowest of margins. The average price difference was 2.23% and the average price difference was 0.23%. Amazon did offer lower prices on a few items, such as the Samsung 55-inch 4K Television: $1,597.99 vs. $1,599.99.
Amazon’s home appliance prices averaged 39% more than Costco’s, and for miscellaneous household products such as toilet paper, detergent, dog food and garbage bags, Amazon prices averaged 75.72% higher than Costco.
