The very clever tricks Costco uses to entice you into buying far more than you intended to

Costco executives have revealed the clever tricks they use to entice members into buying far more than they intended.

The wholesale club offers two types of shopping experiences, they explained in their third-quarter earnings call, according to The Street.

The first provides members with a well-curated selection of grocery and household items at low prices - which usually draw shoppers into its warehouses.

But Costco also offers an ever-changing collection of items, which create a desired treasure hunt experience.

The items can be anything from clothing, to furniture, toys and gift cards that are too good to pass up. 

Costco offers members two types of shopping experiences, including a treasure hunt to buy items they were not expecting to buy, but which are at deals that are too good to miss

For the grocery section, that means offering a variety of international foods from its warehouses in other countries.

'We were just in a session with our grocery divisions and talking there,' CEO Ron Vachris said in the third-quarter earnings call in May.

'And we've seen a great success in international foods that have been brought into the US and then of the like, from the US into the other regions of the world where we do business.'

'But you want to take care of not only the consumables in the grocery side, but when we bring in an item that's a success in Taiwan or Korea or the UK, then it creates that excitement for the member.

'That's when we really have done a good job of triggering that impulsive purchase where members are trusting the buyers, and they will add that additional item to the cart. So that's been a big win for us.'

CEO Ron Vachris said the wholesale club has especially benefited from its international food offerings

Vachris went on to say that he understands that part of the Costco experience is having items on display that members may not have been looking for, but really want to buy.

'And again, it goes a lot of times with that treasure hunt,' he said.

'[You've] heard the phrase "people come in to spend $100 and walk out with $300." That's because our buyers and operators do a great job in making the warehouse exciting.

'When they go in there and do their basic shopping, they pick up a few additional items that just compel them at the time.'

Recently, however, Costco has seen its members visit more often but spend less.

Recently, Costco has seen its members visit its warehouses more often but spend less

Chief Financial Officer Gary Millerchip now sees this as an opportunity to expand the treasure hunt items.

'The nice thing about the opportunity there for us is with trips up by 5 percent, that's really why the average basket size has been more flat recently, and that's because we've been growing member engagement in consumables - as Ron mentioned - with food and fresh,' he told investors. 

Millerchip added that as inflation eases, consumers are returning to buying discretionary items 'led by toys, tires, lawn and garden and health and beauty aids,' according to Yahoo Finance.  

'And so it does present a great opportunity, and I think it also speaks to the team doing a good job of riving more frequency of member visits,' he said.

'So it creates a great opportunity for us to drive more of that basket size as well.'

Membership fees earned the raised $1.12billion  in revenue for the company

Costco reported net sales of $58.52billion in the third-quarter earnings call, beating Wall Street's estimates of $57.98billion in sales. 

Membership fees, though, came in line with Wall Street's estimates of $1.12billion in revenue - a 7.6 percent increase from the same time last year.

As of Tuesday evening, the wholesale club was trading at $876.20, a 0.44 percent increase from the day before.

The wholesale club is now expected to release its fourth-quarter earnings at the end of September.