How Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Can Drive Business Growth for Retailers
The electric vehicle (EV) trend is here to stay. More consumers are choosing electric vehicles as consumers grow more cognizant of their carbon footprint. EVs play a critical role in fighting climate change.
For instance, in 2019, the global fleet of electric vehicles in use combined to avoid using nearly 0.6 million barrels of oil products per day. While EVs address global sustainability issues, the increase in use can also be leveraged by retailers to drive business growth.
According to a report by ChargePoint, an electric vehicle infrastructure company, implementing charging stations at retail locations can potentially increase customer dwell time. Moreover, because 85 percent of EV drivers have higher incomes than the average household, installing charging stations can also attract consumers with more buying power.
Easton Town Center is the leading regional shopping, dining, and entertainment destination in the Columbus, Ohio area. Its tenants include Macy's, Nordstrom, American Eagle, Zara and J.Crew. Thanks to its rapidly expanding infrastructure, there is a growing market for EVs around Columbus, with sales increasing by 40 percent year over year. Recognizing an opportunity, the company wanted to implement EV charging as a guest service to encourage EV drivers to visit, demonstrate a strong commitment to sustainability, and set Easton apart from other shopping destinations.
ChargePoint Solution
Easton enlisted the help of ChargePoint to implement its initiative. The company installed five ChargePoint networked EV charging stations capable of adding up to 200 miles of range in one hour. EV drivers could easily locate the charging stations using the free ChargePoint mobile app, or Apple maps. After finding a desired location, they could start charging their vehicle with a tap of their phone. The app also monitors the progress of the charge empowering drivers to shop while waiting.
Results
Since installing ChargePoint's charging stations, Easton made advancements in both its business and sustainability objectives. The company found that about 40 percent of EV drivers spent more time than the average consumer at Easton, and are attracting 350 EV drivers each month. Most importantly, the initiative resulted in the prevention of more than 10,000 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions.
Source
"How Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Can Drive Business Growth for Retailers," ANA, 2021.