News
Costco keeps hot‑dog combo at $1.50 while driving cheaper groceries
Costco’s $1.50 hot‑dog and soda combo has remained unchanged since 1985, representing a 69.8% real‑price drop. CEO Jim Sinegal’s focus on low prices led to in‑house production, selling about 300 million combos annually profitably. The article compares Costco’s pricing advantage to Walmart’s, noting Walmart saves U.S. households $263 billion yearly and that Costco is roughly 21.4% cheaper on groceries. Recent BLS data shows a 0.9% rise in beef prices in October, but retailers continue to lower costs through logistics and scale. A Kalshi estimate gives a 68% chance the combo price stays at $1.50 through 2030.