BJ's Wholesale Digital Acceleration Boosts Sales and Member Loyalty

BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. BJ is enhancing its digital efforts, and the results are evident. In the second quarter of fiscal 2025, digitally enabled comparable sales increased 34% year over year, reflecting two-year stacked growth of 56%. This strong momentum demonstrates how effectively the company’s technology investments — such as buy online, pick up in club, same-day delivery and ExpressPay — are transforming customer behavior by blending digital convenience with BJ’s in-club experience.

BJ’s Digital Fulfillment Strengthens Efficiency and Engagement

BJ’s unique fulfillment strategy remains a key differentiator. More than 90% of digital orders are processed through its clubs, ensuring faster service and tighter operational control. This approach not only boosts efficiency but also deepens member engagement. Digitally active shoppers have proven to be twice as valuable as traditional customers, spending more and renewing more often. The BJ’s mobile app has emerged as a powerful engagement tool, with more than half of members using it to clip coupons, find products and even preorder deli items. This digital engagement has directly supported record membership fee income of $123.3 million, up 9% from the year-ago period.

BJ’s Membership Growth Reaches Record Levels

Membership continues to be a key growth driver. During the second quarter, the company reached a new milestone with 8 million members, while higher-tier memberships rose to 41% of the total base. This trend underscores how digital integration is helping BJ’s build stronger connections with members and enhance loyalty. Management views digital integration as critical to sustaining growth, especially as evolving consumer behaviors and macroeconomic pressures reshape shopping patterns. BJ’s continued investment in digital capabilities positions it well to capture demand for hybrid retail experiences.

Competitors Push the Digital Frontier: Walmart and Costco

Walmart Inc. WMT has been steadily expanding its digital footprint. In the second quarter of fiscal 2026, global e-commerce sales soared 25%, driven by 26% growth in Walmart U.S. and Sam’s Club. Store-fulfilled pickup and delivery surged nearly 50%, while membership fees and advertising revenues posted double-digit growth. Walmart is leveraging AI, including its new Sparky assistant, to further personalize the shopping journey. The retail giant has partnered with OpenAI to let customers shop directly within ChatGPT, blending conversation with commerce in what the company calls an “AI-first shopping” model.

Costco Wholesale Corporation COST, meanwhile, continues to leverage its membership model to build a loyal customer base. Costco’s digitally-enabled comparable sales surged 26.1% in September or 26.3% when adjusted for fuel and currency headwinds. This builds on gains of 18.4% in August and 15.1% in July, reflecting sustained strength in Costco’s online channel.

Conclusion

BJ’s faces the challenge of maintaining this momentum amid strong competition from Walmart and Costco while advancing its digital capabilities. The company’s hybrid approach, tightly integrating physical clubs with online services, offers a differentiated path to growth. If BJ’s can maintain its pace of digital adoption while driving deeper membership penetration, it may remain well-positioned to capture long-term opportunities in a rapidly evolving retail landscape.

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