Dive Brief:
- Costco saw weak March sales, but analysts predict that those sales will return to normal in April.
- The company reported a slight 0.3% dip in overall sales and a 2% decrease for overall comparable sales in the five weeks leading up to April 5. Comparable sales in the U.S. were flat for that time period.
- Costco attributed the sales decreases to losing a sales day for Easter, gas deflation, the strength of the U.S. dollar, and "a drop in comparable sales in Japan, where volume rose a year ago in anticipation of an increase in the country’s sales tax rate," according to Supermarket News.
Dive Insight:
On Costco catching up in April, Kelly Bania, an analyst with New York's BMO Capital Markets Corp., said, “We expect comparisons in Japan to ease in April and normalize in coming months, [and] the Easter shift is expected to reverse next month and boost April base comps by 1.5% to 2%,” reports Supermarket News.