My visit to Costco was early one Sunday morning. The store was just about ready to open. As I pulled into their 2-floor parking lot, I noticed the lot was already crammed with cars, leaving only a few empty parking spots. The customers looked like they were ready to hit the ground running as the store rolled opened their huge metal doors. I started walking towards the door and saw customers grabbing shopping carts. There were two types of carts. A regular medium sized cart you'd see at a grocery store, but only larger and more solid and a large flatbed push cart that allowed you to stack big items on.

Upon entering, every customer had to show their Costco membership card to the workers. This card has your picture on it and

I went through my same procedure at Costco. I wandered around and took notes. The majority of the items are food. However, they also sell beauty products, magazines, basic office and school supplies, flowers and candles. They offer a deli, bakery, photo center, and pharmacy services. It felt much more laid back and much more quiet in Safeway. They played some light background music (soft rock, modern pop, oldies) and Costco didn't. I didn't hear many people talking among each other. Reason being is because many shoppers were alone or shopped with one other person. It was very unlikely for me to see a group of 3 or more shopping there. Some customers had the regular sized shopping carts, others had hand baskets, and some didn't need either one. The customers here walked in a slower pace and didn't seem too much in a rush. They didn't look any different from those that shopped at Costco. They dressed casual. I saw them reading labels and comparing prices on the neatly stacked items on the shelves. The items were sold individually and not in bulk. I assumed they were comparing prices to mark which ones were cheaper or which items were on sale. Some flipped through their coupon books and others were looking for the "Buy One, Get One Free w/ Safeway Club Card" labels. This meant that if you have a Safeway Club Card, you get special deals, discounts, and specials. To obtain one, you simply apply at the store and it's free. No picture is required.

All in all my shopping experience was quite interesting. In Costco, I felt like it was an amusement park for products! I even got some free samples! Everything was combined under one enormous roof. They apply a high volume, low cost, and high value product approach. You get things in bulk for cheap. Customers who shop at Costco seemed to be in a family or needed a lot to last them several months. There were extremely long lines before checking out and another long line to exit the store. You'd definitely have to put aside about 2 hours to shop at Costco. Sa

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