Refilling an electric vehicle (EV) battery takes longer than refilling a gas tank. That’s great news for businesses around EV chargers.
A new Massachusetts Institute of Technology study finds that “opening a charging station boosted annual spending at each nearby business by an average of about $1,500 in 2019.” The profit dropped to $400 per year between 2021 and 2023, likely because Americans drove less during COVID-19-era lockdowns.
Related: EV Charging Stations: Everything You Need To Know
But, the researchers say, “The spending bump amounts to thousands of extra dollars annually for nearby businesses.”
The reasoning is simple: Filling a gas tank takes minutes. Most of us just wait for the tank to refill.
But even using the fastest public charger, charging an EV’s battery can take 40 minutes. That kind of downtime often promotes walking around, buying coffee, or browsing for other things.
MIT explains, “Researchers collected data from over 4,000 charging stations in California and 140,000 businesses, relying on anonymized credit and debit card transactions to measure changes in consumer spending.”
“The joint gas station and convenience store business model could also be adapted to EV charging stations,” says lead author Yunhan Zheng.
Related: GM, EVgo to Make Chargers More Like Gas Stations
“Traditionally, many gas stations are affiliated with retail store chains, which enables owners to both sell fuel and attract customers to diversify their revenue stream. EV charging providers could consider a similar approach to internalize the positive impact of EV charging stations.”
