Costco has begun selling silver coins online for the first time, a top executive has confirmed.
Costco’s e-commerce sales surged 18.4 percent in the quarter, driven by strong demand for gold and silver bullion, appliances, and gift cards, the retailer said.
In recent months, the company started selling gold bars on its website for members, and there was a rush to purchase them before they were sold.
“You’ve probably read about the fact that we’re selling 1-ounce gold bars,” Mr. Galanti said in December. “We sold over $100 million of gold during the quarter.”
Gold prices reached an all-time high of $2,164.09 this past week, while spot silver prices also have been on the rise over the past year. In the past five days, silver rose by about 1.82 percent and stands at $24.28 as of the afternoon of March 12.
Precious metals like gold and silver can be considered a hedge against inflation, which has remained elevated despite multiple Federal Reserve rate hikes. Some also consider it a safe-haven investment in anticipation of when the Fed decides to cut those rates.
Inflation
On March 12, a government report found that inflation rose again in February, which will likely force the Fed to wait before lowering interest rates.The consumer price index, a measure of goods and services costs, increased 0.4 percent for the month and 3.2 percent from a year ago, according to the Labor Department. That was slightly ahead of what analysts had predicted.
“Inflation continues to churn above 3 percent, and once again shelter costs were the main villain,” Robert Frick, corporate economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, told CNBC.
Lower Revenue
Costco’s total sales were up 6 percent at $58.44 billion but missed London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) estimates of $59.16 billion, according to its quarterly report.The company said that net sales were negatively impacted by a shift in the fiscal calendar and gasoline price deflation.
With elevated day-to-day costs hammering household budgets, customers have kept a tight lid on their spending, particularly for big-ticket, non-essential purchases such as home furnishings, sporting goods, and garden supplies, analysts have said.
In January, U.S. retail sales fell by the most in 10 months with decreases in sales of electronics and appliances as well as clothing, health, and personal care products.
However, demand for Costco’s consumables and groceries held steady. They helped the company’s comparable sales, excluding the impact of fuel and currency fluctuations, to jump 5.8 percent in the second quarter.
“The same store sales actually came out better than the street expected, which again was weird because you kind of knew what the number was heading into this year,” Telsey Advisory Group analyst Joseph Feldman told Reuters.
