NFL
By: Rick O’Donnell
Having recently purchased a PHEV (plug-in hybrid electric vehicle), I can’t help but notice the places that don’t have chargers available. There are plenty located around my hometown, and for the most part, I have no trouble charging my car. I live in an apartment building and thus can’t charge it while at home. However, there are businesses out there that could benefit from targeting these drivers.
“Why would you buy an electric vehicle if you can’t charge it?” Simple, it still runs on gas. I just realized the days of paying in the $2 range per gallon of gas are long gone. I can still fill up my vehicle and spend ~$8-$12/week on gas. Basically, I cut my fuel bill dramatically and highly encourage anyone else who is considering doing the same.
But back to charging stations for a bit. You don’t need to spend all day charging your vehicle. There are fast chargers that will get it fully charged within about 2 hours. Who wants to spend 2 hours away from home charging their car, right? Trust me, it’s worth the money you put back in your pocket, but certain places need to get on board for both their business and the customer:
Grocery stores
Let’s face it, there’s no avoiding the grocery store these days unless you own a farm. Grocery stores should be one of the first places to adopt EV charging, especially if their competitors don’t. Chances are, people are going to spend around an hour in the store, and even the fancier locations have sit-down meals right in the store. If you want to encourage people to hit up your hot food bar, why wouldn’t you offer something such as EV charging stations while they sit and eat, or at the very least shop?
Barnes & Noble
I can’t imagine B&N wouldn’t benefit from charging stations. Take a look at what they offer: books, chairs to read said books, and a Starbucks with Wi-fi. Everything they do leads you to believe they want people sitting on site, reading and drinking coffee. On top of the fact that they often have appearances by authors and shows for kids right on site. They almost corner the market on the type of customers who would look for charging stations.
Restaurants
Okay, this one is a bit of a stretch as I’m not going to pull up to a McDonald’s or a Burger King to charge my vehicle. However, if I’m going down to my local steakhouse for a sit-down dinner for a special occasion, I’d consider plugging in my car as we wait for our meal. The typical dinner out lasts roughly an hour to two hours, so it seems like a match made in heaven.
Wholesale Clubs
Stores such as BJ’s, Costco, and Sam’s Club should have charging stations as well. At the end of the day, you already offer gasoline. You have opportunities for member pricing, and it’s passive income. Even if it only brings a few dollars per day on the books, it adds to the value of the store, keeps people on site, and doesn’t cost much to maintain. You’re already luring the cheaper gas shoppers. Why not cater to the other end of the shopper base?
I know. The market for catering to electric vehicles isn’t worth investing in right now. However, sales of these types of vehicles are growing. Why would you not want to invest in charging stations while they’re still fairly inexpensive? I’m sure there’s probably some sort of tax write-off or business expense to make up a good chunk. Food for thought.
