In the Loop: Costco New Zealand opens - is it actually cheaper?

Hundreds lined up for the grand opening of New Zealand's first Costco mega store, but will it be cheaper and who can get the most bang for their buck?

BusinessDesk investments editor and financial author Frances Cook said places like Costco can work out "really well", as long as they're used strategically.

"The whole idea about Costco is that you are usually bulk buying so it can work out well for non-perishables or anything that you would go through a lot of anyway."

She told the Herald's youth-focused In the Loop podcast that the trick with bulk buying was to be careful of treat foods or things you wouldn't be buying anyway.

"One of the things that can happen is people will be like oh what an amazing special on biscuits I'll buy these for the kids.. And then you go through that whole hundred in a week and you probably wouldn't have bought them at all otherwise."

Frozen veggies, lentils and toilet paper on the other hand were a good idea, she said.

BusinessDesk investigations editor Frances Cook. Photo / Jason Oxenham.

For those not shopping for a large family and who were able to walk to a supermarket she said it may not make sense to shop there.

"You want to be thinking about what would work for you in bulk. So maybe you could pool with other people. There are some people who with friends or family or whatever will be like alright what are our staples we're all getting them and we can all pitch in and then split it."

Host Cheree Kinnear was at the store during the grand opening and said she probably wouldn't do her weekly shop there but will head down occasion.

"Because it's $60 to get a membership, you want to make the most of it especially the petrol too, if that's not on your way to work or in your area you'd have to be pretty dedicated to pay that money."

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by The New Zealand Herald (@nzherald)

Kinnear said it's hard to compare prices between supermarkets because the food was generally bigger at Costco but from her rough look most items appeared cheaper.

"You've got to factor in other costs too and whether or not overall getting there, and the petrol to get there and all the extra stuff is actually financially smarter."

She said one American man she spoke to said Kiwis were going to have to look at buying bigger pantries to hold the bulk food.

"You'd need probably a separate freezer, because no one has a freezer that big," she said.

Kinnear believed all the hype may be just because it's a big new store from the US, not necessarily because of the prices.

"You'd have to go fairly consistently to save the $60, you know you'd have to look at where am I going to make back my $60 that I've spent on my membership. I think the petrol you would save pretty quickly because it is significantly cheaper. "