Costco's Website Is About To Get More Convenient. Here's Why

It may feel like the Costco website can do just about anything. According to MoneyWise, shoppers can snatch up some unusual goods that they might not normally see inside one of its physical warehouse stores, such as swimming pools, six-person saunas, and funeral caskets. CNBC even reports that you don't need a Costco membership in order to use its website, giving you the ability to test the water if you feel like browsing a kilogram of caviar or 7-pound tub of Nutella.

Many shoppers may want to use the website in order to do their regular shopping, instead of buying outlandish luxury items or investing in unexpected purchases like ghillie suits. Costco also created a web presence called Costco Next, which allows shoppers to quickly select from some of the store's top brands in order to simplify their online shopping experience (via Costco Next). The company also has a new website upgrade that could make digital orders that much easier.

According to The Motley Fool, the company plans to spruce up Costco Next by bringing a few new companies into the fray, Costco's director, executive vice president, and chief financial officer Richard Galanti said in a recent earnings call. The platform currently hosts 1,000 products from 37 companies. The main shopping website also has an upgraded look that's designed to be more user-friendly — digital shoppers now have the ability to reschedule item returns and deliveries in the United States and Canada. But the real change lies in a partnership with top-ranked grocery delivery service Instacart.

Sometime during March, shoppers should have the ability to check out the full line of warehouse and Instacart products available to purchase, in addition to goods found inside shoppers' local Costco stores. This change should allow customers an in-depth look at Costco's full range of available goods on the company's main website. 

With any luck, the new feature could help shoppers find what they need faster. But it might also end up tempting a few impulse buys like saxophone starter kits or full-scale vacation packages.