TUSTIN, CA – Groceries aren’t going to shop for themselves–which is how we all end up pushing double-wide carts through the Costco crowds on weekend mornings, only made better by those fresh-prepped items waiting for us in the food court at the end. And now, in competing with Amazon and other retail behemoths, Costco is entering the arena dominated by fast-food and fast-casual chains by testing ordering kiosks in its food courts at two California locations.

A Costco employee told The Orange County Register that a self-serve kiosk was installed at the Tustin District location two weeks ago, and that, so far, it’s been a “great success” with wait times cut “substantially.”

Tustin Costco shoppers can now use touch-screens at the kiosks to order and pay for food court items without having to wait in the notoriously long lines. The kiosks are part of Costco’s new efforts to keep possible diners in-store, cut down on wait times, increase order accuracy, and overall boost food court sales.

To make room for the kiosks, the Tustin Costco reduced its yellow-line section by half, which, as a result, has reduced the number of shoppers waiting along the yellow line to almost none.

With all of our favorite Costco food court items now at the touch of a fingertip–and virtually no wait time!–will Costco test self-checkout kiosks for the rest of its merchandise next, to compete with retailers embracing tech for convenience sake? AndNowUKnow will continue to report with the latest.

Costco