Costco plans to stop selling books regularly at its wholesale clubs from January through August starting next year, the New York Times reported Thursday.
Publishing executives told the outlet the retailer came to the decision, at least in part, because of the added cost for workers to stock the books, which are placed on tables for display, unlike other items that can simply be rolled out on pallets for customers to grab from.
A customer views books displayed for sale at a Costco in San Antonio on May 30, 2018. A report from the New York Times says Costco is planning to stop selling books at its clubs on a regular basis starting in January. (Callaghan O'Hare / Bloomberg / Getty Images)
According to the outlet, the sources said Costco might still sell books on occasion but will only stock them regularly during the holiday season from September through December.
The move could cost publishers dearly because the wholesaler's bulk orders can be as high as hundreds of thousands of copies of a single book, the newspaper reported.
Shoppers are shown outside Costco in Bayonne, New Jersey, on Dec. 9, 2023. (Angus Mordant / Bloomberg / Getty Images)
FOX Business has reached out to Costco for comment.
According to Publishers Weekly, Costco has been a major bookseller for decades, but the industry has known for quite some time that the company was pulling back on book sales.
The outlet reported that bestselling fiction and book club selections sell well at Costco, as well as nonfiction hardcovers, cookbooks and boxed sets of children’s books.