Americans are flocking to warehouse clubs for cheap gas and groceries as inflation gets worse

• Groceries and gas are both getting pricier by the week.
• Sam's Club, Costco, and BJ's offer cheaper groceries in gas for members.

Inflation is at a 40-year high and gas prices are nearly $5 in much of the US, but that's good news for gas and warehouse clubs.

Sam's Club, Costco, and BJ's, which operate with membership models where customers must pay an annual fee to shop at the store, are all having an exceptionally good year. They're benefiting from the same trends that are pushing customers towards discount stores like Aldi.

Grocery inflation reached a record high in May of 14.6% over May 2021, according to analytics firm Numerator. This was the largest increase since the firm started tracking grocery inflation in June 2021. Inflation isn't quite as high at warehouse stores, though. Numerator found that membership stores like Costco were able to keep inflation between 6.9% and 8.2% over last year.

Recent price comparisons from Insider found lower prices at Costco and Sam's Club than at other grocery stores on most items.

Gas prices are also increasing rapidly. The national average price for a gallon reached $4.87 on June 6, AAA found. That's up 25 cents from the previous week, and 59 cents from last month. Grocery membership clubs typically include access to discounted gas, which can be as much as 30 cents per gallon less expensive. In May, Insider reported on consumers purchasing $60 Costco memberships just for the fuel benefits.

Visits to these warehouse stores are up over 2019 according to foot traffic analysis firm Placer.ai, at 4.1%, 3.5%, and 6.1% for Costco, Sam's Club, and BJ's, respectively. Visits are slightly down compared to 2021, but that doesn't mean sales are down.

"While numbers are down slightly year over year, this trend is likely driven by the aforementioned orientation towards bulk buying which drives larger basket sizes off of fewer overall trips," Placer.ai VP of marketing Ethan Chernofsky told Insider. Customers interested in getting the best possible deals are making fewer, larger trips, though that trend appears to be reversing slightly, he said.

Costco has 116.6 million members, generating $984 million in revenue from membership fees alone in the third quarter of fiscal 2022, the company just announced. Sales were up 16.3% in the quarter over the same period in 2021, and membership renewals reached an all-time high of 90%.

Sam's Club, which is owned by its parent company Walmart, also reported that sales in the past quarter were up over 10% over the same period last year. Income from membership fees was also up more than 10% as numbers grew, president and CEO of Walmart Doug McMillon said in the earnings call. BJ's, though smaller than the other two warehouse clubs, reported a 14.4% increase in sales in the first quarter of 2022 over 2021. Income from membership fees also increased nearly 12% to over $96 million, the chain said.

Do you have a story to share about a retail or restaurant chain? Email this reporter at mmeisenzahl@businessinsider.com.