Cartagena looks set to get its first PriceSmart. The US membership warehouse retailer is planning an 11th Colombian club in the fast-growing Serena del Mar area of the city, with local business reporting pointing to a possible opening in late 2027 or early 2028.

The site, roughly 20,000 square metres near Serena del Mar and the northern transport terminal, sits close to Buenavista Shopping Center. Around 7,500 square metres of that will be sales floor — about the size of a large football pitch. The northern stretch of Cartagena has been pulling in residential towers and commercial investment as the city grows beyond its colonial core, so a bulk-buy retailer in the mix makes sense. Both the timeline and the location come via the Colombian business press, so treat the dates as provisional until PriceSmart confirms them.

For anyone new to the model: PriceSmart is essentially the Costco of Latin America and the Caribbean. Shoppers pay an annual membership to access a warehouse of groceries, electronics, clothing and household goods sold in large formats and multipacks. Many clubs throw in extras like pharmacies, optical centres, bakeries and prepared food, and the company runs an online store alongside its physical sites. The San Diego-based chain entered Colombia in 2009 and already runs 10 clubs, including one in Barranquilla on the same Caribbean coast.

Why should a traveller care? If you're staying in Cartagena for more than a few weeks — a long-term rental, a work stint, an expat life — bulk shopping can seriously trim a food budget. And it's not just households: Cartagena's huge hospitality sector of hotels, restaurants and vacation rentals buys in volume, and a PriceSmart could change where the city's Airbnb hosts source their coffee, towels and toilet paper. Local reporting suggests the project could create around 200 jobs, though the company hasn't confirmed that figure.

Open questions remain on membership fees, which departments the Cartagena club will house, and the exact construction schedule. PriceSmart is also pushing ahead with new clubs elsewhere in the region, including Jamaica, Guatemala, Costa Rica and Chile. But the direction of travel is clear: the city's northern districts are becoming a retail draw in their own right, and travellers with a kitchen and a long stay will soon have one more reason to base themselves there.

Story via Colombia One.