As of May 2018, Whole Foods has been offering electric vehicle charging stations at more than 100 of its 479 stores in the United States. The supermarket chain has, in fact, asserted that this number is only going to grow. But, Whole Foods is not the only American supermarket to welcome EV charging stations on its premises with open arms. Other forward-thinking supermarket brands include Krogers, Hy-Vee, Harris Teeter, Fred Meyer, and Lucky’s. So, why are supermarkets investing in EV charging stations? This post breaks it down for you:
Targets affluent consumer base
In a survey conducted by Clean Technica, 58% of EV drivers marked their annual household income as greater than $100,000. At the time of this survey, the median household income in America was pegged at $53,657. Clearly, EV drivers are environmentally-conscious citizens taking home higher than average paychecks. And these are the customers that progressive supermarkets want shopping at their outlets.
Increases shopping time and spend
Shoppers have a tendency to stay inside a store for up to twice as long if their vehicles are getting battery juice at the same time. So, if a customer would have normally spent 30 minutes inside your store, you can easily expect them to stay for an hour or longer to add at least 20 to 25 miles of travel with a Level 2 charging station. Naturally, this time will be spent shopping, browsing or grabbing a bit inside your outlet. Which means more revenue for you.
Builds brand loyalty
If your supermarket’s list of amenities includes electric vehicle charging stations, you can rest assured that EV drivers would prefer your outlet over your competition. And once you have provided a good experience to an EV driver, you can count on their loyalty and repeat patronage. One of the easiest ways to elevate the experience is by tackling range anxiety of EV drivers and offering them a charging station with credit card payment facility as well as other cashless payment options.
Product promotion becomes easy
A unique benefit that supermarkets can pass on to their customers by adding EV Meter Level 2 charging stations to their premises is that of discount coupons. EV Meter charging stations come with an 8-inch touchscreen display that doubles up as advertising real estate. This means supermarkets can easily push the products they want to promote that day by giving out coupons to EV drivers at their first point of contact at the store: an EV Meter electric vehicle charging station.
Promotes brand image
Today, every business wants to be identified as a promoter of green and sustainable future. Adding an EV charging station to your premises is one of the easiest ways to do that and fulfill your corporate social responsibility. When shoppers identify your business as a green energy promoter, they would prefer to shop from you irrespective of whether they own an electric vehicle or not.
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