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Costco Scraper: Extract Product Data & Pricing Intelligence

Introduction

Costco is the third-largest retailer in the world and the world's largest retailer of beef, poultry, organic produce, and wine, making it a crucial data source for market research, competitive analysis, and business intelligence. Costco operates dedicated websites for multiple countries including the United Kingdom (costco.co.uk), Mexico (costco.com.mx), South Korea (costco.co.kr), and Taiwan, along with Australia and Japan, each offering region-specific products, pricing, and inventory information.

The challenge of manually tracking product information, pricing trends, and availability across multiple Costco regions is time-consuming and inefficient. Our Costco Product Search Scraper addresses this challenge by automating the extraction of comprehensive product data from category pages across all major Costco international websites, providing businesses with the competitive intelligence they need to make informed decisions.

Scraper Overview

The Costco Product Search Scraper is a sophisticated data extraction tool designed to collect detailed product information from Costco's international e-commerce platforms. Like other modern e-commerce websites, Costco relies on single-page applications (SPAs) that dynamically load content using XHR/Ajax requests, making traditional scraping methods ineffective. This scraper overcomes these technical challenges by utilizing advanced techniques to access the underlying API endpoints that deliver product data.

This tool excels in extracting comprehensive product datasets from category pages, providing over 60 data points per product including pricing information, inventory status, product specifications, and customer ratings. The scraper supports multiple international Costco domains, enabling cross-market analysis and regional pricing comparisons.

Target users include e-commerce businesses, market researchers, pricing analysts, retail consultants, and competitive intelligence professionals who need accurate, up-to-date product data from one of the world's largest retailers.

Input and Output Details

Example url 1: https://www.costco.co.uk/Computers/Laptops-MacBooks/c/cos_16.1

Example url 2: https://www.costco.com.au/Electronics/TVs-Projectors/TVs/c/cos_21.1.2

Example url 3: https://www.costco.co.jp/Home-Furnishing/Bed-Bath-Towels/Pillows-Cushions/c/cos_3.5.3

Example Screenshot of product information page:

Input Format

The scraper accepts JSON configuration with several key parameters:

Input:

{
  "max_retries_per_url": 2, // Maximum waiting time when accessing the links you provided.
  "proxy": { // Add a proxy to ensure that during the data collection process, you are not detected as a bot.
    "useApifyProxy": true,
    "apifyProxyGroups": [
      "RESIDENTIAL" 
    ],
    "apifyProxyCountry": "US" // You should choose an Country that coincides with the Country you want to collect data from
  },
  "max_items_per_url": 20,
  "urls": [ 
    "https://www.costco.com.au/Electronics/TVs-Projectors/TVs/c/cos_21.1.2", 
    "https://costco.co.uk/Computers/Laptops-MacBooks/c/cos_16.1",
    "https://www.costco.co.jp/Home-Furnishing/Bed-Bath-Towels/Pillows-Cushions/c/cos_3.5.3"
    // // Links to product list by query page.
  ]
}

Key Input Parameters:

• max_retries_per_url: Controls retry attempts for failed requests (recommended: 2-3)
• proxy configuration: Essential for avoiding bot detection, with residential proxies recommended for reliability
• max_items_per_url: Limits the number of products extracted per category page (default: 20)
• urls: Array of Costco category page URLs from supported international domains

Input Requirements:

• URLs must be category or search result pages, not individual product pages
• Supported domains: .com.au, .co.uk, .co.jp, .co.kr, .com.mx, .tw
• Proxy usage is highly recommended to prevent IP blocking
• Country selection should match the target Costco region for optimal results

Output Format

You get the output from the costco Product Search Scraper stored in a tab. The following is an example of the Information Fields collected after running the Actor.

[ // List of product information
  {
  "add_to_cart_from_plp_categories": null,
  "addable_to_cart_from_listing_page": true,
  "addon_has_pdp": null,
  "as400_discount": false,
  "available_for_pickup": false,
  "available_for_preorder": false,
  "average_rating": 0.0,
  "average_weight": "",
  "base_price": {
    "currency_iso": "GBP",
    "formatted_price_for_set_of_two_quantities": "£9,399.98",
    "formatted_value": "£4,699.99",
    "price_type": "BUY",
    "value": 4699.99
  },
  "business_delivery": false,
  "buy_now_enabled": false,
  "code": "592685",
  "coupon_discount": {
    "discount_type": "default",
    "hide_discount_calculation": false
  },
  "decal_data": [
    {
      "key": "1",
      "value": {
        "alt_text": "\"\"",
        "position": 1,
        "url": "/mediapermalink/decal-new-2020"
      }
    }
  ],
  "department_number": "",
  "description": "<div><a href=\"/concierge-services\"><img alt=\"Extended 2 Year Warranty** on Computers, Tablets, Major Appliances/ White Goods* Cameras and Camcorders\" class=\"desktop-bnr\" src=\"/mediapermalink/concierge-2year-warranty-bnr-1400\" /> <img alt=\"Extended 2 Year Warranty** on Computers, Tablets, Major Appliances/ White Goods* Cameras and Camcorders\" class=\"mobile-bnr\" src=\"/mediapermalink/concierge-2year-warranty-bnr-480\" /></a></div>\n\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\n\n<p>The Legion 9i is a game studio in your bag, built for game developers, VFX artists, and 3D pros who need power,precision, and expandability, featuring a lightweight and ultra-durable Forged Carbon chassis. With Intel&reg; CoreTMUltra processors and GeForce RTX&nbsp; laptop graphics, it delivers real-time rendering, AI-enhanced workflows, andray tracing. The Lenovo PureSight 4K Display shifts from 4K at 240Hz to FHD at 440Hz, while Legion Coldfront Vapor technology keeps performance smooth. Legion Space unifies settings, AI-powered gaming tools, and device integration, and expandable hardware ensures the Legion 9i grows with you. For next-level creation without theneed for a 3D headset, the optional Lenovo 3D Studio enables AI-driven 3D content creation with an optional 3Ddisplay.<br />\n<br />\n<strong>Forged Carbon</strong><br />\nA pioneering material as unique as your fingerprint, this one-of-a-kind process fuses eight layers of carbon fiber for enhanced durability and reduced weight.<br />\n<br />\n<strong>Lenovo PureSight</strong><strong>Gaming Display w/ Dual</strong><strong>Mode</strong><br />\nA game studio in your bag, enjoymassive screen real estate for game development, video fx and gaming.Effortlessly shift from 4K at 240Hz to FHD at 440Hz for extreme speed.<br />\n<br />\n<strong>Legion Coldfront&nbsp;Vapor</strong><br />\nA testament to cutting-edge innovation ideal for sustained workflows, Legion Coldfront: Vapor deploys the future of cooling technology with massive vaporchambers, advanced quad turbo-charged fans and dedicated heat sinks for key components.<br />\n<br />\n<strong>Introducing LegionSpace &amp; Lenovo 3DStudio (Optional)</strong><br />\nThrough its unified portal, Legion Space provides access to custom system settings, exclusive deals, and diverse AI-powered tools, while the optional Lenovo 3D Studio software utilizes advanced AI for immersive 3D content creation and consumption on select displays.</p>\n",
  "display_ex_vat_price": false,
  "display_shipping_included_tag": false,
  "english_name": "Lenovo Legion 9, Intel Core Ultra 9, 64GB RAM, 2TB SSD, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090, 18 inch, Gaming Laptop, 83EY000TUK",
  "exclude_payment_plan": false,
  "expedited_delivery": false,
  "group_id": "default-cartgroup-uk",
  "has_other_options_variants": false,
  "has_price_per_unit": false,
  "hide_price_value": false,
  "id_verification_enabled": false,
  "images": [
    {
      "format": "thumbnail",
      "image_type": "PRIMARY",
      "url": "/medias/sys_master/images/he9/h4f/369064884404254.jpg"
    },
    {
      "format": "product",
      "image_type": "PRIMARY",
      "url": "/medias/sys_master/images/h9e/he6/369064883355678.jpg"
    },
    {
      "format": "results",
      "image_type": "PRIMARY",
      "url": "/medias/sys_master/images/h97/h5f/369064883617822.jpg"
    },
    {
      "format": "carousel",
      "image_type": "PRIMARY",
      "url": "/medias/sys_master/images/h97/h5f/369064883617822.jpg"
    },
    {
      "format": "thumbnail-webp",
      "image_type": "PRIMARY",
      "url": "/medias/sys_master/images/h5f/h9f/369064885977118.webp"
    },
    {
      "format": "product-webp",
      "image_type": "PRIMARY",
      "url": "/medias/sys_master/images/h43/hf8/369064886435870.webp"
    },
    {
      "format": "results-webp",
      "image_type": "PRIMARY",
      "url": "/medias/sys_master/images/ha2/h40/369064886894622.webp"
    },
    {
      "format": "carousel-webp",
      "image_type": "PRIMARY",
      "url": "/medias/sys_master/images/ha2/h40/369064886894622.webp"
    }
  ],
  "in_my_wishlist": false,
  "in_restricted_zone": false,
  "ineligible_to_leave_unattended": false,
  "is_base_product": false,
  "is_external_vendor_product": false,
  "is_external_vendor_variant_product": false,
  "lexical_score": 0.0,
  "max_order_quantity": 500,
  "max_order_quantity_per_date_range": 0,
  "membership": false,
  "membership_restriction_applied": false,
  "min_order_quantity": 1,
  "minimum_verification_age": 0,
  "modulus_item_quantity": 1,
  "multi_product": false,
  "name": "Lenovo Legion 9, Intel Core Ultra 9, 64GB RAM, 2TB SSD, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090, 18 inch, Gaming Laptop, 83EY000TUK",
  "name_in_selected_language": "Lenovo Legion 9, Intel Core Ultra 9, 64GB RAM, 2TB SSD, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090, 18 inch, Gaming Laptop, 83EY000TUK",
  "normalized_lexical_score": 0.0,
  "normalized_vector_score": 0.0,
  "overlay_required": false,
  "potential_promotions": [],
  "price": {
    "currency_iso": "GBP",
    "formatted_price_for_set_of_two_quantities": "£9,399.98",
    "formatted_value": "£4,699.99",
    "price_type": "BUY",
    "value": 4699.99
  },
  "price_range": {},
  "product_cart_group_available_in_warehouse": false,
  "purchasable": true,
  "random_weight": false,
  "requires_age_verification": false,
  "restricted": false,
  "rolling_time_period": 0,
  "score": 1.0,
  "shipping_included": true,
  "shipping_purchase_method_exception_message": "",
  "shipping_restriction_applied": false,
  "show_energy_rating": false,
  "show_estimated_delivery_date": false,
  "sold_individually": true,
  "stock": {
    "contact_day": 0,
    "delivery_lead_time": 0,
    "stock_level_status": "inStock"
  },
  "summary": "<p>- Intel&reg; Core&trade; Ultra 9-275HX Processor<br />-&nbsp;NVIDIA GeForce RTX&trade; 5090 graphics<br />- Windows 11 Home<br />- 16 inch WQXGA 240Hz Display<br />- Up to 4 hours Battery life<br />- 3.75kg<br />- 2 Year Warranty Included</p>",
  "tire": false,
  "url": "/Computers/Laptops-MacBooks/Lenovo-Legion-9-Intel-Core-Ultra-9-64GB-RAM-2TB-SSD-NVIDIA-GeForce-RTX-5090-18-inch-Gaming-Laptop-83EY000TUK/p/592685",
  "valid_ex_vat_data": true,
  "vector_score": 0.0,
  "volume_prices_flag": false,
  "warehouse_fulfilled": false,
  "warehouse_hide_price_value": false,
  "warehouse_pickup_only": false,
  "from_url": "https://www.costco.co.uk/Computers/Laptops-MacBooks/c/cos_16.1"
}, // ... Many other product details
]

The scraper generates a comprehensive dataset with over 60 data fields per product, providing extensive product intelligence:

Core Product Information:

• Name/Description: Product title and detailed description for identification and categorization
• Code/ID: Unique product identifiers for inventory management and cross-referencing
• Price/Base Price: Current pricing and original pricing for margin analysis
• Images: Product image URLs for visual product catalogs

Inventory and Availability:

• Stock: Current inventory status for supply chain planning
• Available for Pickup/Preorder: Fulfillment options indicating product availability
• Warehouse Fulfilled: Distribution method affecting delivery times
• In Restricted Zone: Geographic availability limitations

Business Intelligence Fields:

• Average Rating: Customer satisfaction metrics for quality assessment
• Coupon Discount/AS400 Discount: Active promotional pricing
• Membership Restrictions: Access requirements affecting target market
• Price Range: Pricing variations for different product configurations

Technical Specifications:

• Department Number: Internal categorization for organizational analysis
• Group ID: Product family relationships for bundling opportunities
• Max/Min Order Quantity: Purchase constraints affecting sales volume
• Average Weight: Shipping cost calculations

Marketing and Sales Data:

• Buy Now Enabled: E-commerce functionality status
• Expedited Delivery: Premium fulfillment options
• Potential Promotions: Upcoming marketing opportunities
• Volume Prices Flag: Bulk pricing availability

Each extracted product includes complete metadata enabling comprehensive market analysis, competitive benchmarking, and strategic business decisions.

Usage Guide

Step-by-Step Implementation:

1. Configuration Setup

   • Define target category URLs from supported Costco domains
   • Configure proxy settings matching the target geographic region
   • Set appropriate item limits based on data requirements (typically 10-50 items per URL)

2. Execution Best Practices

   • Always use residential proxies to avoid detection
   • Implement reasonable delays between requests (recommended: 1-3 seconds)
   • Start with smaller datasets to test configuration before scaling
   • Monitor for website structure changes that may affect data extraction

3. Data Processing

   • Validate extracted data for completeness and accuracy
   • Remove duplicate entries using product codes or URLs
   • Normalize pricing data across different currencies and regions
   • Structure the data in user-friendly formats such as CSV, Excel, or JSON for easier analysis

4. Common Error Handling

   • Increase retry attempts for temporary network issues
   • Adjust proxy settings if experiencing blocked requests
   • Verify URL formats match expected category page structures
   • Check for website updates that may require scraper adjustments

Tips for Optimal Results:

• Schedule scraping during off-peak hours to minimize detection risk
• Rotate proxy locations to match target market regions
• Regular monitoring ensures data quality and extraction reliability
• Implement data validation checks to identify incomplete extractions

Benefits and Applications

Time and Resource Savings

This automated solution eliminates the need for manual data collection across multiple Costco websites, reducing research time from days to hours. Scraping Costco product details helps extract detailed product information, including descriptions, specifications, and pricing, which is crucial for understanding product features and pricing structures.

Real-World Applications

• Competitive Pricing Analysis: Compare prices across international markets to identify pricing opportunities
• Market Research: Analyze product availability and popularity across different regions
• Inventory Planning: Monitor stock levels and product lifecycles for supply chain optimization
• Brand Intelligence: Track competitor products and pricing strategies across global markets

Business Value

Combining Costco product data with other retail data creates a clear picture of the market at large, making it easier to discover your place within it. The comprehensive dataset enables data-driven pricing strategies, market positioning decisions, and competitive advantage development.

Regular data collection provides trending insights, seasonal pattern recognition, and market opportunity identification that would be impossible to achieve through manual research methods.

Conclusion

The Costco Product Search Scraper provides comprehensive, reliable access to one of the world's largest retailers' product databases across multiple international markets. With its extensive 60+ data fields per product and support for major Costco regions, this tool delivers the competitive intelligence needed for informed business decisions.

Ready to transform your market research capabilities? Start extracting valuable Costco product data today and gain the competitive edge your business needs.

Your feedback

We are always working to improve Actors' performance. So, if you have any technical feedback about costco Product Search Scraper or simply found a bug, please create an issue on the Actor's Issues tab in Apify Console.