Sam’s Club declares war on Costco with $1.38 hot dog and soda combo

Let the hot dog and soda wars commence.

Sam’s Club, the membership-only wholesale retailer owned by Walmart, is cutting the price of its hot dog and soda combination by 12 cents — from $1.50 to $1.38.

The move — which undercuts Costco’s price of $1.50 for its hot dog and soda deal — was announced during a third-quarter earnings call by Walmart CEO Doug McMillon, according to Insider.

McMillon told investors that reducing the price of the hot dog and soda combo by around 10% is part of the company’s effort to “making the everyday shopping trip better.” 

Despite record levels of inflation that has pushed the price of food skywards, both Sam’s Club and Costco have steadfastly refused to raise the cost of the popular combo packages.

Like Costco, Sam’s Club is a wholesale retail outlet that charges customers an annual membership fee to shop there.

While Costco charges tiers of $60 and $120 per year for its membership, Sam’s Club runs a bit cheaper — $50 and $110 for its tiers.

In order to cope with inflation, Sam’s Club says it will raise prices on higher-end items such as rack of lamb and lobster tails while keeping the costs of Thanksgiving staples the same.

Walmart released its third quarter earnings for fiscal year 2023. The company announced total revenues of $152.8 billion, which is up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

Walmart said that its membership at Sam’s Club was at an all-time high and that sales jumped by 10% this past quarter.

Shares of Walmart were trading at more than 7% higher as of 1:20 p.m. Eastern time on Tuesday.

In late September, Costco executives confirmed that the retailer had no plans to alter the price of its $1.50 hot dog and soda combo.

Costco CFO Richard Galanti reassured investors that the fan favorite would remain unchanged. He said that higher-margin businesses such as gas and travel sales help Costco maintain its value deals.

“Those things help us be more aggressive in other areas, or as you mentioned, hold the price on the hot dog and the soda a little longer – forever,” Galanti said.

Costco did raise the price of its soda and chicken bakes in July. Chicken bake now costs $1 more than it did before the summer while soda became more expensive by 10 cents.

Shares of Costco were trending upward by nearly 3% as of 1:21 p.m. Eastern time on Tuesday.