Clear leaders emerge in the Retail EV Charging Index
The state of retail EV charging in the US is a story of haves and have-nots. Not whether they have or don’t have EV charging (of course), but whether they have fully committed to the program or are slowly dipping their toes into the water. Breaking into the top 10 is highly competitive—they average 170 deployed sites. That alone makes it impressive that Walmart jumped 3 spots to #2 through the deployment of about 10 new stations every month. And most, like Walmart, have an evolving portfolio where the balance of sites are shifting from site host stations to owned stations with integrated retail programs.
On the other hand, it’s really not too hard to get into the top 50—the last 15 to make the list average 8.7 deployed sites, nearly all of which are 3rd party site hosts. QuikTrip, Coborn’s, Road Ranger, and Wegmans all entered the Top 50 this quarter.
Register for our upcoming webinar, where we'll be speaking with the SVP of EV US at Applegreen (#4) about how the Applegreen team thinks about the intersection of EV charging and retail programs.
Here are the trends we’re seeing:
The future of fuel retail is emerging
The majority of retailers on the list previously had liquid fuel business lines. 28 of the top 50 retailers in this index are convenience, fuel, or travel-center operators. They hold 7 of the top 10 spots and 57.9% of all live retail-adjacent DCFC sites. Each of these businesses have a proven model of driving traffic through fuel and converting them into in-store retail sales, and can envision how EV charging will do the same for the next generation.
Grocery is untapped EV charging potential
15 of the top 50 retailers in this index are grocers, and grocery is growing its fast-charging footprint as fast as any sub-vertical. 8 of the 15 grocers added sites this quarter.
However, it is worth noting that of those 15 grocers, none of them are in the top 10, and none have committed to owning and operating its chargers program (13 of 15 are primarily site hosts). The highest-ranked grocer is #17, so the top tier is open to the first grocer that does.
Big Box
5 of the top 50 retailers in this index are big-box or warehouse-club chains, and 4 of them are in the top 25. Costco ranks #10 with 44 sites it owns, just behind Target's #8 with 300 hosted sites. These retailers tend to have large parking lots and are leveraging EV charging to make the most of the real estate.
Evolving retail EV charging maturity: from site host to ownership
18 of the top 50 retailers in this index own or co-own their charging, and that group fills 8 of the top 10 spots. Retailers value owning the customer journey and the customer data. EV charging is the next frontier, so it is only logical that those who can are choosing to bring the EV charging experience and data into their domain.
QSRs are behind…
Only 2 of the top 50 retailers in this index are QSRs, with 24 live DCFC sites between them (0.9% of the total), and none owns its chargers. Bojangles ranks #24 with a single (well-branded) site, so the category is wide open.
But it’s still early days
17 of the top 50 retailers in this index have 10 or fewer live DCFC sites, and no home-improvement retailer makes the top 50 at all. A focused rollout of a few sites can still earn a ranking.
See the Retail EV Charging Index
The state of retail EV charging in the US is a story of haves and have-nots. Not whether they have or don’t have EV charging (of course), but whether they have fully committed to the program or are slowly dipping their toes into the water. Breaking into the top 10 is highly competitive—they average 170 deployed sites. That alone makes it impressive that Walmart jumped 3 spots to #2 through the deployment of about 10 new stations every month. And most, like Walmart, have an evolving portfolio where the balance of sites are shifting from site host stations to owned stations with integrated retail programs.
On the other hand, it’s really not too hard to get into the top 50—the last 15 to make the list average 8.7 deployed sites, nearly all of which are 3rd party site hosts. QuikTrip, Coborn’s, Road Ranger, and Wegmans all entered the Top 50 this quarter.
Register for our upcoming webinar, where we'll be speaking with the SVP of EV US at Applegreen (#4) about how the Applegreen team thinks about the intersection of EV charging and retail programs.
Here are the trends we’re seeing:
The future of fuel retail is emerging
The majority of retailers on the list previously had liquid fuel business lines. 28 of the top 50 retailers in this index are convenience, fuel, or travel-center operators. They hold 7 of the top 10 spots and 57.9% of all live retail-adjacent DCFC sites. Each of these businesses have a proven model of driving traffic through fuel and converting them into in-store retail sales, and can envision how EV charging will do the same for the next generation.
Grocery is untapped EV charging potential
15 of the top 50 retailers in this index are grocers, and grocery is growing its fast-charging footprint as fast as any sub-vertical. 8 of the 15 grocers added sites this quarter.
However, it is worth noting that of those 15 grocers, none of them are in the top 10, and none have committed to owning and operating its chargers program (13 of 15 are primarily site hosts). The highest-ranked grocer is #17, so the top tier is open to the first grocer that does.
Big Box
5 of the top 50 retailers in this index are big-box or warehouse-club chains, and 4 of them are in the top 25. Costco ranks #10 with 44 sites it owns, just behind Target's #8 with 300 hosted sites. These retailers tend to have large parking lots and are leveraging EV charging to make the most of the real estate.
Evolving retail EV charging maturity: from site host to ownership
18 of the top 50 retailers in this index own or co-own their charging, and that group fills 8 of the top 10 spots. Retailers value owning the customer journey and the customer data. EV charging is the next frontier, so it is only logical that those who can are choosing to bring the EV charging experience and data into their domain.
QSRs are behind…
Only 2 of the top 50 retailers in this index are QSRs, with 24 live DCFC sites between them (0.9% of the total), and none owns its chargers. Bojangles ranks #24 with a single (well-branded) site, so the category is wide open.
But it’s still early days
17 of the top 50 retailers in this index have 10 or fewer live DCFC sites, and no home-improvement retailer makes the top 50 at all. A focused rollout of a few sites can still earn a ranking.
