Retail membership clubs: An exploration of belonging, membership and spending behaviours

Retail membership clubs are an important yet under-researched area of scholarly research in retailing. This paper examines how shoppers belong to, and shop at, membership clubs. It situates membership clubs within the broader context of the human need for belonging, alongside recent trends towards greater social isolation. Using a largescale syndicated survey, the paper analyses self-reported behaviours related to membership clubs. It explores the social functions these clubs serve and examines how membership relates to shopper characteristics, marketing influences, happiness levels and other aspects of people’s lives. The results indicate that membership is strongly associated with being married, having children, higher income and higher overall spending levels. The most prevalent membership programmes are found to be Amazon Prime, Costco and Walmart+, with most members belonging to multiple clubs. This article is also included in The Business & Management Collection which can be accessed at http://hstalks.com/business.