- Walmart plans its own network of EV charging stations to take advantage of increased sales of these vehicles and attract more customers to its stores.
- The strategy seeks to offer an experience and price that would be impossible with a third party involved in the equation.
- Retailers that install charging stations can increase their revenue by up to $350 per charger per month.
Walmart has a plan to attract more customers: It plans its own network of battery-charging stations for electric cars by 2030.
The aim is to take full advantage of the strong increase in sales of that class of vehicles, especially in the United States, its largest market.
The new own fast charging stations, they will be located in the thousands of Walmart and Sam’s Club outlets along with the 1,290 it already has as part of a series of agreements with Electrify America.
Electrify America is one of the largest open public battery charging networks in the United States.
The idea seeks to take advantage of this data: the more than five thousand Walmart stores and Sam’s Club stores are less than 15 kilometers from 90 percent of the consumers in the country governed by Joe Biden.
“We can do it like nobody else,” he told Reuters Vishal Kapadia, Head of Energy Transformation at Walmart.
Goals
Walmart is not alone in this strategy of taking advantage of its parking lots for EV charging.
The world’s leading retailers are increasingly incorporating stations as part of their initiatives for sustainability, customer service, and of course, earning more revenue.
Retailers like Target and Whole Foods have already installed charging stations in hundreds of their stores across the United States. By doing so, these retailers are not only supporting sustainable mobility, but also attracting customers looking for places to charge their electric vehicles while they shop.
By offering charging services, supermarkets can increase the time customers spend in their stores, which obviously ends up generating higher consumption.
In addition, the installation of charging stations for electric vehicles can help improve the image and reputation of the brand, positioning them as environmentally responsible companies.
In addition to Electrify America, other public charging networks, such as ChargePoint and EVgo, have also partnered with retailers. According to a study by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), retailers that install charging stations for electric vehicles can increase their revenue by up to $350 per charger per month.
Walmart strategy with EV charging stations
According to Kapadia, The strategy will allow Walmart to offer an experience and a price that would be impossible with a third party involved in the equation.
Although there are still not that many EVs in relation to the total number of cars on the roads, the scenario changes geometrically for three reasons: the high price of gasoline, state subsidies for the purchase of EVs and cheaper new models.
At the same time, Biden announced 5 billion dollars from the Government to install a mega network of charging stations.
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