Costco wholesale sales climb in September, early October

Costco Wholesale recorded higher sales in September and the first few days of October, with gains spread evenly across all regions. The warehouse retailer said Wednesday that sales rose 8% to $26.58 billion in the five-week period that ended Oct. 5, Reuters said.

Comparable sales, which adjust for store openings and closings, were up 5.7% overall, with a 5.1% gain in the U.S., 6.3% gain in Canada and 8.5% growth across international markets.

Digitally-enabled sales, a metric previously called ecommerce sales, were up 26% on a comparable basis. The metric includes all sales that were delivered to customers who ordered through a digital device, regardless of whether the orders were fulfilled through a warehouse or a distribution center or Costco-Travel.