New research suggests people who shop at club stores like Costco, BJ’s or Sam’s Club spend more, make more shopping trips, and eat more packaged food calories than if they didn’t shop at a club store.
“You think you’re saving money and getting ahead, but it’s not good for your health and it’s not good for your pocket book,” says Kusum Ailawadi, a professor at Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business and the lead author of the study.
Researchers say people become club members assuming that shopping there will help save money due to bulk buying (AKA less frequent shopping).
The study found those who shopped regularly at club stores had a:
- 5 percent increase in the amount of money spent on packaged food per person
- 15 percent increase in the amount of time spent shopping
- 8 percent increase in calories consumed
Researchers found that not only are you not saving, you are increasing your spending on packaged food by $3.50 per person, per month at a wholesale club.
And because of the club membership, which is a “sunk cost” and the way that club stores actually make their money, there is a strange mental accounting that takes place, says Ailawadi.
But is buying in bulk always bad for you?
The short answer is no, says Ailawadi.
If you have a club membership and want to make the most of it, you should try to plan your shopping, says Ailawadi.
Much of the increase in spending and consumption comes from spontaneous purchases. Also: don’t trust yourself to go slow on packaged food you’ve already bought.