I shopped in Costco and it was like a flashback to Covid

There are many reasons shoppers head to Costco. And it seemed they’d all decided to head there at once on my recent trip to a store near my home.

From giant muffins to five-litre bottles of fabric conditioner, there are all manner of things that get customers going back time and time again — and everyone’s got their favourite.

I was there mainly for two things last Sunday: massive packs of Kirkland toilet rolls and bottles of spring water. And, annoyingly, they were out of both, something I’ve never known happen before. It’s probably why shoppers were pouncing on a Costco worker at the back of the store pestering for packs of reduced Andrex loo rolls before he’d even had chance to stock up the shelf.

The last time I saw something like this was when the Prime drink arrived in stores and had people queuing down the aisles. I was having flashbacks to Covid days when toilet roll virtually became a currency. I didn’t even know the price but thought: “If people are so desperate to get their hands on it, it’s probably worth me getting some.”

It turned out that three packs of 16 rolls were on offer for £17.99 (including VAT), working out at just 37p a roll — a massive saving on supermarket prices. Just one 16-pack of the same toilet rolls costs £11.50 at Tesco or Asda, so would be £34.50 for the three packs, almost double the price .

This is what else I bought

• Sparkling water: £5.87 for forty 500ml bottles, or just 15p a bottle.
• Summer Fruits flavoured water: £6.47 for 24 bottles, or 27p each (that’s another big saving compared to what you pay elsewhere. Even at Aldi the packs of four flavoured waters are £1.45, meaning 36p a bottle. At B&M, the Essence flavoured waters are 45p each)

It might have been absolute mayhem, and I’m not sure I’ll be going back to Costco on a Sunday in a hurry, but it’s always a worthwhile trip if there are savings like this to be made (the Andrex offer has now finished).

The membership fee for Costco costs £33.60 a year. A list of professions from which current or retired employees can apply is listed here and members can add on a spouse for free, or get an extra card for £14 plus vat. You can also get an online only shopping subscription for £15.