Sam’s Club is giving its members more time to shop and taking a direct swing at its biggest competitor, Costco.
The Walmart-owned warehouse retailer announced that starting this weekend, all Sam’s Club stores will open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day, a significant expansion that adds more convenience for members. The biggest change comes on Sundays, when stores previously operated from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Now, shoppers can get an early start two full hours before Costco’s Sunday opening time.
“We made this decision in response to overwhelming feedback from members and just in time for the busy holiday season, when convenience matters most,” a Sam’s Club spokesperson told Newspapers.
The retailer hopes the extended hours will make it easier for members to avoid crowds and plan their shopping trips more flexibly, particularly as the holiday season ramps up. The company also clarified that a few holidays remain exceptions: stores will close early at 6 p.m. on Christmas Eve and remain closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas Day, New Year’s Day, and Easter Sunday.
As with Costco, Sam’s Club reserves the first hour of the day for its premium Plus members, while all other members can shop starting at 9 a.m. Plus memberships cost $110 a year, compared with $130 for Costco’s Executive membership, while standard Sam’s Club access starts at $50 annually $15 cheaper than Costco’s $65 basic membership.
Fuel stations at Sam’s Club will operate daily from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., and curbside pickup will begin at 7 a.m., part of the retailer’s continued investment in online ordering and e-commerce services.
The move is the latest in a series of strategic updates as Sam’s Club works to close the gap and in some ways surpass its long-time rival. Earlier this year, Sam’s Club topped Costco in customer satisfaction scores, thanks in large part to its high-tech innovations, including cashierless “Scan & Go” checkout and AI-powered inventory systems.
Costco, for its part, has also been experimenting with ways to enhance member value. The company expanded early access for its Executive members last month, reporting a 1% bump in weekly sales following the change. Both membership-based chains have continued to outperform traditional big-box retailers like Walmart and Target in 2025, driven by strong loyalty and bulk-purchasing demand.
Data from the market analytics firm Numerator shows just how dominant both retailers have become: nearly half of American households have shopped at either Costco or Sam’s Club at least once in the past year.
Still, Sam’s Club’s latest move might give it a psychological and practical edge. For many members, the ability to get a head start on their weekend shopping may be all the incentive they need to make Sunday mornings synonymous with Sam’s Club.
