Costco Wholesale, which has long thrived on offering free samples, is giving its customers fewer reasons to come into its stores.
The company announced Thursday that it is rolling out two new grocery delivery services that would bring fresh produce, as well as packaged goods and other items, straight to customers’ doorsteps.
The move brings the membership-based chain face-to-face with some of its largest competitors, including Amazon.com, which recently completed its $13.6 billion purchase of Whole Foods Market, and Walmart, the country’s largest grocer. (Jeffrey P. Bezos, the founder and chief executive of Amazon, owns The Washington Post.)
But some analysts worried that Costco — which has been successful at getting people to make impulse purchases at stores — may lose its edge if fewer shoppers are roaming its aisles. Shares of the company’s stock closed down 5.97 percent at $157.09 on Friday.