The success of American retail giant Costco in the suburbs of Sydney's Auburn has prompted the warehouse store chain to explore opening a second shop in Canberra.

In spite the rains and traffic, shoppers trooped to the Costco's Auburn store, with the promise to sell everyday items at a cheaper price of 10 to 20 percent than rivals.

The big difference with Costco is the membership it offers to shoppers, which is also a steady stream of earnings. According to smartcompany.co.au, the sense of exclusivity appealed to consumers in Australia, who had tempered their buying and resisted bargains offered by local stores.

Local managing director Patrick Noone has told SmartCompany that he hopes the Sydney store will be even more lucrative than its first location in Melbourne. The company is also planning more locations in every major capital city, along with duplicate stores for Melbourne and Sydney.

The Web site for SMEs smartcompany.com.au noted that there are some points that Australia's retailers can learn from Costco's success.

Charging for membership in order to shop at the store has provided a sense of exclusivity and has driven consumers to linger longer and explore the store's aisles. The fee also guarantees that the paying public will be back to maximize the membership.

The satisfied customer also serves as a walking marketing tool for the shop. Costco did not have many marketing materials and catalogues given out, but the satisfaction generated from the customers will itself provide the much-needed marketing.

Another important aspect of Costco's success is it wide-range of customer targets. Smartcompany called it targeting no one, but everyone.