ISSAQUAH, WA - Retailer Costco is displaying a winning strategy as it has announced not only an increase in sales and net income, but membership renewal rates hitting an all-time high. Following the recent release of its third quarter and year-to-date financial results, the chain held its Q3 earnings call, in which Bob Nelson, Senior Vice President, Finance and Investor Relations, laid out the details.

"In terms of renewal rates, we hit all-time highs. At Q3 end, our U.S. and Canada renewal rate was 92.3 percent, up 0.3 percent from the 12 weeks earlier at Q2 end. And the worldwide rate came in at 90 percent for the first time in company history, and that's up 0.4 percent from what we reported at Q2 end," he stated in the call. "Renewal rates continue to benefit from the increased penetration of both auto renewals and more executive members and, in addition to that, higher first-year member renewal rates than what we have historically seen."

This increase in membership fee income came in part due to increased renewal rates, which hit a new high during the quarter, as Nelson noted. Nelson went on to explain in the call.

"In terms of member counts, number of member households, and cardholders at Q3 end, we ended Q3 with 64.4 million paid households and 116.6 million cardholders, both of those up over 6 percent compared to a year ago," Nelson remarked.

Additionally, the worldwide membership renewal rate came in at 90 percent for the first time in Costco's company history, which is up 0.4 percent from the previous quarter.

Click here to read more about Costco's financial results and membership strategy.

With its membership numbers on the rise, what will Costco have up its sleeve next? Stay tuned to AndNowUKnow to find out.

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