Costco Store Changes: Dedicated Senior Shopping Hours End July 26

Costco (COST) will be eliminating its dedicated senior shopping hours, starting on July 26 and resuming its normal operating hours following that date at its warehouse stores.

The wholesale retailer made the announcement on its COVID-19 updates page.

Until that date, Costco warehouses in the U.S. and Puerto Rico will be open from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. Monday through Friday for those individuals that are aged 60 and older and those that have disabilities or are immunocompromised. Costco said guests will not be admitted with these shoppers.

However, Costco did say that the special operating house will vary by location. Store hours can be verified on the Costco.com/warehouse-locations page, and dedicated shopping hours can be checked at Costco.com/covid-updates

The announcement from Costco comes as the U.S. sees a lifting of COVID restrictions across the U.S. as 68% of Americans have been vaccinated against the virus. Costco does offer the COVID-19 vaccine to customers at its pharmacies.

Costco implemented dedicated shopping hours for those most a risk of contracting the coronavirus back in March 2020 at the height of the pandemic. Costco was also one of the first retailers to require consumers to wear face masks when shopping at its stores.

Costco dropped its face mask policy on May 14, when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced new face mask guidelines for vaccinated Americans, saying that they no longer recommended wearing masks indoors if they had received the COVID vaccine.

Costco also brought back its in-store samples in June and reopened its food court for customers after eliminating the services when the coronavirus crisis started last year as a way to prevent the spread of the virus.

In addition, this year, Costo will open new stores in Murfreesboro, Tennessee; Little Rock, Arkansas; and Moore, Oklahoma, in July and Springfield, Missouri; and Naperville, Illinois, in August.

Shares of Costco were trading at $398.99 as of premarket hours on Tuesday, up 5 cents, or 0.01%.