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— Retail Properties Quarterly — September 2015
Technology
E
very retail facility is
looking for ways to
attract customers and
keep them shopping
longer, whether it is
offering free Wi-Fi, children’s
play areas, water features,
background music or valet
parking.
One of the most effective
and proven
ways to
increase
dwell time
and aver-
age dollars
spent is to
install elec-
tric vehicle
charging
stations.
The data
is compel-
ling. Kohl’s
found that
EV drivers
spend about 20 minutes more
in store than non-EV drivers,
while another major retailer
found EV drivers spend more
than three times longer in
store. With statistics like
these, the return on invest-
ment is higher and easier to
calculate than many other
amenities.
However, before adding EV
charging stations, do some
homework regarding ser-
vice providers, installation
and maintenance. Don’t be
suckered into an offer from
a service provider that leaves
your store or shopping center
with little power or control.
Often service providers will
ask to lease space to install
charging stations at no cost.
On the surface it seems like
a no-brainer to let someone
else pay for and manage
a charging station on your
property. The offer is compel-
ling – no upfront investment
in hardware, no maintenance
fees and no day-to-day man-
agement of a new technology.
But, dig a little deeper and it
quickly is revealed that this
offer is too good to be true.
As it turns out, this scheme
can become a disincentive.
While the station might be
installed at no cost to the
property owner, someone
has to pay for it, and in this
model it is the electric car
drivers. Because third-party-
owned stations don’t benefit
from the additional shop-
ping revenue, they recover
their costs via a big markup
on electricity, sometimes as
much as five times the cost.
As a result, the price the
driver pays is high relative
to other charging options.
Unfortunately, once third-
party operators start charging
drivers high prices to plug in,
your shopping center loses
all of the benefits of having
it in the first place. Shoppers
no longer linger and spend
more, but instead become
clock-watchers, eager to leave
as soon as they have enough
power to do so.
Even worse, most of the
contracts with third-party
providers have long-term
exclusivity clauses, which
means you as the property
Jim Burness
CEO and general
manager, National
Car Charging,
Denver
Photo courtesy: Ashley Glennon
Car charging stations outside of retailers keep customers shopping
longer.
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