(Reuters) – Costco Wholesale missed market expectations for fourth-quarter sales on Thursday, reflecting cautious spending by price-conscious customers at its members-only stores as well as the impact of lower gasoline prices.

The company’s shares fell about 1% in extended trading. They are up about 37% so far this year.

While extremely low prices for groceries and other kitchen staples are driving demand for essential products, consumer spending on high-priced categories such as furniture, home and sporting goods has been volatile, hurting sales at Costco warehouses.

The company also expects demand for more expensive goods like patio furniture in the summer, as well as back-to-school shopping for items like tablets and other electronic devices.

“Costco’s relatively wealthy member base will be among the first to return to discretionary spending as inflation cools and interest rates fall,” said Sky Canaves, an analyst at eMarketer.

The membership warehouse retailer’s same-store sales are also being hit by lower gasoline prices, which are cutting into margins. They grew 5.4% in the period ended September 1, compared with a 6.6% increase in the third quarter.

Excluding gasoline, the company’s comparable sales rose 5.4%, below estimates of a 6.4% increase, according to LSEG data.

In July, the company announced it would increase its annual membership fee by $5 to $65 for Gold Star members and from $120 to $130 for executive members. The increase took effect on September 1st.

Costco’s fourth-quarter revenue rose nearly 1% to $79.70 billion, falling short of analysts’ average estimate of $79.97 billion.

The company’s quarterly membership revenue was flat year-over-year at $1.51 billion.

Net income attributable to Costco rose to $2.35 billion, or $5.29 per share, from $2.16 billion, or $4.86 per share, a year earlier, beating LSEG data the estimates of $5.08 per share.

(Reporting by Juveria Tabassum; Editing by Alan Barona)