‘Why aren’t more companies doing this?’: Woman normally buys Oxi-Clean at Sam’s Club. Then she tries the Kirkland brand at Costco

Costco's Kirkland Oxi Powder has been the talk of the town after the discovery of this subtle product feature. 

The small details in a product can make or break a consumer's decision to buy. Consumers will notice when companies go the extra mile when designing products that solve a problem. It becomes clear when a company takes the extra step to provide a better user experience or only does the bare minimum to keep costs as low as possible. 

So when two similar retailers go head-to-head when dueling for customer loyalty, these small details in products can make all the difference. 

In a TikTok with over 58,000 views, Lainey (@laineybug923) was pleasantly surprised by how well Costco's Kirkland Oxi Powder is designed. She urges more companies to do this. 

What makes Costco's Kirkland Oxi Powder so special?

In the TikTok, Lainey is doing a comparison between Sam’s Club and Costco. Lainey is on a quest to see which retailer is better for her by comparing various bulk products from the two retailers. 

For this video, she dives into the oxi powder from both retailers. Lainey told Daily Dot, “I was just really expecting the products at both stores to be the same.” However, there was one major difference that made Costco’s Kirkland Oxi Powder in bulk way better than Sam’s Club's. 

Costco uses a zipper to reseal the bag after opening. 

In most cases, the entire bag of oxi powder will not be used in one use. So, having a bag that can be resealed is an absolute game changer when OxiClean's and Sam’s Club's do not.

When buying from Sam's Club, another container is needed to store the powder if you want to ensure nothing spills. When the bag doesn't have a zipper, the powder can easily become a spill liability.

“Costco loves a zipper bag. They understand it’s bulk. I need to reseal,” one TikTok commenter added.

So, why are more companies not paying attention to small details like adding zippers to a bag?

Details like this communicate to customers that companies value the small things. Nowadays, companies will cut costs wherever possible—like not installing zippers on bags—to maximize shareholder value. However, this subtle detail from Costco certainly impressed Lainey. 

Lainey told the Daily Dot, “I assumed Costco would be in the mindset of just putting any product out there being a bulk item store. The fact that Costco knows their customers are buying bulk and will most likely have to store for long periods of time; adding small things like the ziplock closing back to the detergent really sets them apart from the competition. It shows that they care more about the customer vs just making a quick buck.”

In most cases, companies will typically take the quick buck route. However, there is something to note about small details and how well they land with customers. 

Lainey continued telling Daily Dot, “Now If I would’ve bought the regular name brand OxiClean, it would be like the Sam’s Club bag with no zipper. In addition, it would be more expensive for less product compared to the Kirkland brand. It’s the little things like adding a zipper that show that Costco cares more about their customers than their competitors, who seem to only care about making a profit.”

Does Costco or Sam’s Club have better customer satisfaction?

According to the American Customer Satisfaction Index, Sam’s Club scored higher than Costco. In 2025, Sam’s Club earned the top spot for all retailers, with 85 points on a 100-point scale, whereas Costco earned 82 points.

Recently, Sam’s Club has been introducing advanced technologies to reduce pain points in the shopping experience, and it's working. The main thing that customers love is Sam’s Club Scan and Go and curbside pickup.

Scan and Go allows customers to scan items while they're shopping, reducing the time for checkout. This is done in the Sam’s Club app, where your preferred payment method can be connected. Once shopping is done, a simple payment verification with a store employee takes place, and the shopper quickly leaves.

On top of that, Sam’s Club offers curbside pickup if you want nothing to do with in-store shopping. Customers can easily order all groceries within the Sam’s Club app and have the store employees do the shopping for them.

“I am a member at both but I choose Sam’s for the convenience. The scan and go at Sam’s is reason enough, scan pay walk-out,” one TikTok commenter added.

“The only thing that Costco is lacking is curbside pick up and scan and go like Sam’s,” another TikTok commenter added.

As highlighted earlier, Costco cares deeply about product details and quality. By focusing on quality, the convenience takes the back seat for Costco. Currently, the only way to get curbside pickup with Costco is to place the order through Instacart.

Costco has considered curbside but opted out due to cost and impacting customer experience. Costco operates on a low-cost business model, and implementing curbside pickup could raise store prices to compensate. This business model thrives on in-person shopping as they are focused on high-volume sales and having store employees foster in-person connections.

Overall, by not offering convenient services like Scan and Go and curbside pickup, Sam’s Club has been able to edge past Costco in customer satisfaction.

@laineybug923 Also, it was cheaper than the actual Oxiclean brand. Not sponsored, just impressed! #oxiclean #costco #costcofinds #costcomember #shopping #laundrytok #firstimemom #clothdiapers #samsclub ♬ original sound - Lainey

So, what did the viewers think about this?

“Costco always thinks of the details. That is part of why people love them. Their merchants are relentless with vendors to make things better than other retailers,” one commented.

“Costco has very intense product standards. The quality you get is better in known household labels. For example, Costco clothes have a higher standard than what they put out in department stores.” one added.

“Yes, the zipper bag won my heart! I kept my oxyclean in its box and oxyclean was always everywhere. Kirkland game changing," one shared.

This TikTok has more than 31,100 views and over 800 likes.

The Daily Dot has contacted Sam's Club, Costco, and OxiClean through email and online contact forms.

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The post ‘Why aren’t more companies doing this?’: Woman normally buys Oxi-Clean at Sam’s Club. Then she tries the Kirkland brand at Costco appeared first on The Daily Dot.