Costco Wholesale is pushing ahead with an aggressive expansion this summer, with seven new warehouse locations set to open in August across six states, from upstate New York to suburban Dallas. The openings mark the latest phase in the Issaquah, Washington-based retailer's broader plan to add 26 new stores in 2026 and roughly 30 per year going forward.
The seven locations span Lee's Summit, Missouri; Albany, New York; Oconomowoc, Wisconsin; Otsego, Minnesota; Mansfield, Texas; Celina, Texas; and Stone Mountain, Georgia, as listed on Costco's "Coming Soon" page. Texas alone accounts for two of the seven, a sign of where the company sees growth, and where Americans keep moving.
The August openings follow two stores that recently launched in Syracuse, Utah, and Pensacola, Florida, plus a new international location in Taiwan. Another warehouse in Amherst, New York, described as the first Costco in the Buffalo area, is expected to open in late October.
In a retail landscape littered with closures, downsizing, and bankruptcies, Costco's expansion stands out. The company now operates more than 620 U.S. locations and nearly 930 worldwide. It boasts over 82 million paid members, a figure that dwarfs rivals BJ's Wholesale Club and Sam's Club.
The revised 2026 plan calls for 26 new locations, though the original target it was revised from remains unclear. What is clear: Costco's longer-term goal of roughly 30 new warehouses per year signals the kind of capital commitment that only comes when a company sees durable demand.
That demand is real. Shoppers greeted the August announcement with the kind of enthusiasm usually reserved for concert tickets. One New York user on the r/Costco subreddit wrote: "Omg FINALLY Albany gets a Costco!!" A Texas customer posted: "Let's hear it for Mansfield! I'm so excited!" Another simply offered: "Welcome to Costco, I love you."
The reactions are telling. In an era when consumer confidence surveys bounce around and pundits debate whether Americans are spending or saving, Costco members are lobbying for new stores in their neighborhoods. That is a market signal worth more than any government report.
The expansion isn't just about square footage. Costco is also rolling out new checkout technology designed to cut wait times, a persistent complaint among members who love the deals but loathe the lines. The New York Post reported that a pre-scanning cart system has improved checkout speed by up to 20 percent at early-adopting warehouses. A new Scan & Pay app feature lets customers scan items and pay through the Costco app, bypassing traditional checkout lines entirely.
CEO Ron Vachris framed the results in characteristically understated terms:
"The warehouses that are first to adopt this pre-scan technology have shown checkout speed improvements of up to 20%. And across our US warehouses overall, we achieved record levels of checkout productivity in the final weeks of the quarter."
One shopper quoted by the Post offered a more ground-level assessment: "I've had them pre-scan my cart in line, and it saved a couple of minutes while helping the lines flow a little faster. It's not revolutionary, it's just helpful."
That last line captures something the business press often misses about Costco. The company rarely swings for flash. It grinds out incremental improvements, a faster checkout here, expanded payment options there, and its members reward it with loyalty that competitors can only envy.
The geographic spread of the August openings tells its own story. Two stores in Texas. One each in Missouri, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Georgia, and New York. These are not coastal vanity projects. They are stores in growing suburbs and mid-sized metros where families shop in bulk because they have to stretch a dollar.
Lee's Summit sits in the Kansas City metro. Otsego is northwest of Minneapolis. Oconomowoc is in the exurbs of Milwaukee. Stone Mountain is east of Atlanta. These are the kinds of communities where a Costco membership isn't a lifestyle accessory, it's a household budget tool.
Albany, meanwhile, has long been a gap in Costco's Northeast footprint. The Reddit reaction suggests upstate New Yorkers have been waiting. And the Amherst store coming in October will finally give the Buffalo area its first warehouse, filling another blank spot on the map.
Costco's ability to listen to its customer base has been a recurring theme. The company reversed course on its Kirkland peanut butter after members pushed back, a move that reinforced the sense that this is a retailer that actually pays attention to the people who keep the lights on.
There is a broader lesson in Costco's expansion that rarely gets the attention it deserves. No government program told Costco to build in Mansfield, Texas, or Stone Mountain, Georgia. No subsidy committee picked Oconomowoc. The company looked at where demand exists, where populations are growing, and where it can turn a profit, and it built.
That model has also extended to how Costco treats its workforce. The company's compensation practices have drawn attention for showing what the free market can do without a government mandate, paying above-average retail wages and building employee loyalty alongside customer loyalty.
With over 82 million paid members and a marketing engine that keeps shoppers engaged, Costco has built something durable in an industry that chews through competitors. BJ's and Sam's Club remain in the game, but neither commands the same membership scale or the same cultural hold.
Costco has not released specific opening dates for the seven August locations. The company's "Coming Soon" page lists the cities but not the calendar. Members in those markets will likely have to watch for local announcements as the month approaches.
It also remains unclear whether the 26-store target for 2026 includes the Utah and Florida stores that already opened, or whether those were counted separately. Either way, seven openings in a single month is a heavy clip, and a sign that the company is not pulling back.
In a country where plenty of institutions seem to be shrinking, retreating, or making excuses, a company that keeps building stores where families actually live is doing something right. No mandate required.