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Growth All Around
Costco led the pack in Q2 2026, with overall visits up 8.2% YoY and average visits per location up 6.0%. BJ's Wholesale Club, Sam's Club, and Target each grew overall visits just shy of 5.0%, while Walmart added a more modest 0.8% increase.
All five retailers saw overall visits grow faster than visits per location, pointing to the role of footprint expansion in the sector’s gains. But the size of that gap varied considerably by retailer – revealing important differences in what was driving growth.
Target Turns the Corner While Walmart's Growth Shifts Online
Target’s recovery gathered momentum through the spring, with visits improving each month before jumping 7.3% YoY in July – the retailer’s strongest performance of the year. The improvement builds on Target’s positive comparable-sales result last quarter, when comparable sales rose 5.6% on 4.4% traffic growth. And July’s spike is especially notable given that Target’s Circle deal event, held in July 2025, shifted to June this year alongside Prime Day. Fresh summer designer collaborations and a strong back-to-school push appear to have resonated strongly with shoppers.
Walmart, meanwhile, saw near-flat spring visit trends despite comparable sales growth of 4.1% last fiscal quarter – reflecting the growing contribution of digital channels to the retailer’s growth. June was Walmart’s weakest visit month of the analyzed period, even as Walmart Deals also shifted to June – suggesting that much of the promotional lift also occurred online. Still, July visits rebounded 2.4% YoY, coinciding with Walmart’s back-to-school campaign, which touted its lowest prices since 2019.
The Club Channel Keeps Compounding
Wholesale clubs outpaced superstores in every month from April through July, reflecting continued consumer demand for bulk value amid persistent macro-economic pressures. Costco's visits grew 7.6% to 9.0% every month – its clubs getting busier even as new ones opened – aligning with U.S. comps that accelerated to 10.3% in July. Sam's Club held steady at 4.5% to 5.2%, with same-store traffic driving most of the gains.
BJ's was choppier, with YoY visits swinging from 7.1% growth in May to 3.2% in June and the widest quarterly gap in the sector between overall and same-store visits. Its softer same-store performance may partly reflect the chain’s Northeast-heavy footprint, as the region has lagged this summer amid unfavorable weather and higher urban inflation than in other parts of the country.
And across all three wholesale clubs, gas remained an important visit driver. Although YoY gas station visit growth moderated from May peaks – when gas prices also reached a high point – July visits remained elevated across the board.
Different Paths to Growth
With deal weeks shifting to June, July’s broad strength points to genuine momentum across value retail – even as each chain is finding growth in a different way. The next test will be whether that strength holds as the sector heads into the crucial holiday season.
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