What Streaming Devices Can You Buy From Costco in 2024?

As streaming continues to dominate home entertainment, Costco shoppers often wonder – can you purchase popular streaming devices like the Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, and Google Chromecast from Costco?

The answer isn‘t quite as simple as yes or no. Costco offers certain streaming players in their warehouses and on Costco.com, but due to competitive reasons, you won‘t find every major brand available.

Overview of the Streaming Device Market

To understand Costco‘s approach to selling streaming gadgets, it helps to know which brands dominate the market:

• Roku holds 30% market share of streaming devices sold in 2022 (23.9 million units)
• Amazon Fire TV is second most popular with 25% share (20.3 million units)
• Google Chromecast takes 18% of the market (14.2 million units)
• Apple TV continues to grow to 8.2 million units sold in 2022

(Source: Business of Apps)

Between them, Roku, Amazon, Google, and Apple make up over 90% of streaming devices used in households today.

Why Do Costco‘s Device Options Vary?

Costco prides itself on customer-obsessed warehouse retail with competitive prices. When it comes to profit margins though, Costco tends to give preference to store branded items along with officially partnered brands.

Consumer electronics follow suit. You‘ll find Kirkland and big names like Samsung, LG, Sony, and others prominently featured. Streaming devices are no exception – Costco sells Roku with an official partnership in place, for example.

However, Costco is also highly selective about what devices make it to their shelves and website. Industry experts suggest deals with entertainment electronics boil down to:

• Competitive positioning – Costco avoids promoting brands like Fire TV and Chromecast which compete directly with their retail business
• Marketing strategy – Brands like Apple spend billions on consumer marketing to drive demand, making their devices a sales magnet
• Logistics planning – Streaming gadgets require nimble supply chains which can be at odds with Costco‘s distribution model

In other words – it‘s strategic for Costco to only sell certain streaming brands, not all.

Smart TVs With Built-In Streaming at Costco

In place of standalone Fire TV and Chromecast devices, Costco emphasizes smart TVs with streaming platforms pre-installed:

• Samsung smart TVs with proprietary Tizen software
• LG TVs using webOS
• Sony, Hisense, TCL, and others running Roku TV
• Vizio, Toshiba, Insignia models with Amazon Fire TV

Over 50 models of smart TVs with streaming are sold across Costco locations and online.

Having streaming capabilities built into the television avoids conflicts that limit Echo and Chromecast device sales while still meeting customer needs.

What Streaming Players You Can Buy From Costco

When it comes to dedicated streaming devices, here are the products currently available from Costco‘s warehouses and website:

• Roku – Costco has an official partnership with Roku. Two current generation Roku Ultra models allowing streaming in up to 4K resolution are typically in stock.
• Apple TV – The latest HD and 4K Apple streaming boxes can be purchased from many Costco warehouses or ordered online.

Amazon Fire TV and Google Chromecast devices are not available from any Costco location at this time.

Can You Order Streaming Devices Online From Costco?

In addition to in-warehouse purchases, many streaming products can be ordered online from Costco.com.

Costco has invested heavily in e-commerce capabilities allowing 2-day delivery for many zip codes or free in-store pickup. Online orders can avoid sell-outs for hot items.

Some high demand products like the latest video game consoles may be online only while inventory lasts. Checking Costco.com frequently is key.

The Bottom Line on Streaming Device Availability

While savvy shoppers can score deals on Roku and Apple streaming devices from Costco, options are more limited compared to retailers like Amazon, Best Buy, or Target.

Costco‘s approach favors smart TVs with built-in platforms over standalone devices in many cases. Carefully weighing their bulk discount pricing against features and platform support is advised.

Ultimately Costco decides device availability based on complex competitive factors – not every streaming box makes the cut. Check back often to see the latest electronics offered!