It's because they are so busy. Yeah, costco is the one store I go to that people seem to have 0 spatial awareness. Every time I go, someone will just stop moving in the middle of the aisle, creating backups, without any shame. But I bet if your other local grocery stores were as busy as costco, they would have the same issues.

That's interesting because my experience is the opposite. Costco can swallow up an irrational number of people and still be pretty smooth inside. The parking lot can be packed and when you walk in the door it turns out to be fine.

Walmart, on the other hand, is the absolute pinnacle of shitty shopper behavior. People being rude, pushy, completely oblivious standing in the middle of the aisle, etc. At least in my area, Costco attracts a different kind of clientele.

"the absolute worst shopping experience I can think of"

Indeed:

* Short opening hours

* checking the membership card at the entrance

* cell phone salesmen inside

* item locations change randomly

* items randomly disappear for weeks at a time, as if Leonid Brezhnev was in charge of restocking

* waiting at the exit for someone to check your receipt

* for a while, they'd check your receipt at the self-checkout and then check it again at the exit

* 1970s level IT, inaccurate inventory information

Microsoft used to give a cash bonus for patents; I imagine Costco has a bonus program for new ideas to make the shopping experience worse. Some ideas:

* throw lit firecrackers into the crowd

* pour oil on the floor so people slip

* complete darkness inside the store

* every 10th person at the checkout has their credit card cut into pieces

Agreed. The entire store is wired to encourage impulse buying and keep you from making rational decisions about whether you'll be able to finish that 3lb container of guacamole before it goes bad.

I don't see how Costco prevents you from making rational decisions. If anything the incredibly plain atmosphere (wide open spaces, no flashing lights, no loud music) feels much more calm than the typical retail experience.

My average food waste from a Costco trip is significantly lower than other grocery stores.

Also Costco has a really annoying "treasure hunt" strategy where goods are re-arranged around the store trying to get you to explore aisles (aka get lost and waste time) to impulse buy more stuff.

Other stores (Target, Walmart, etc) will let you look up the item's aisle in their app and be considerate of your time.

Costco's app will let you search inventory, but not let you see location or quantity.

I love Costco, but I hate that they constantly move shit!