Kroger Adds More Electric Vehicle Charging Stations
Customers at The Kroger Co. now have increased access to electric vehicle charging stations. The grocer has tested and phased in charger installations in partnership with Blink, Electrify America, EVgo, Tesla and Volta to bring hundreds of charging stations to stores in select markets across the country.
“Increasing our customers’ access to EV charging stations at convenient Kroger locations supports our collective transition to a lower-carbon economy,” noted Yael Cosset, Kroger’s SVP and CIO. “We are leveraging technology and innovation to reduce our greenhouse-gas emissions and are offering customers easy ways to live a more sustainable lifestyle.”
More than 350 chargers have rolled out in areas of Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Indiana, Nevada, Oregon, Texas, Utah and Wyoming, with several more chargers set to be installed by the end of 2022. These future locations include Ohio, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Tennessee and Virginia.
Charging options range in versatility, allowing compatibility among most vehicles, including many direct-current (DC) fast chargers. Charging times can vary from as few as 10 minutes, with most sessions averaging about 30 minutes per vehicle.
In collaboration with Volta, for instance, Kroger is deploying a mix of DC Fast and Level 2 Volta charging stations at 16 of the grocer’s locations in the Atlanta and Indianapolis areas, and will soon implement stations in Columbus, Ohio; Cincinnati; Louisville, Ky.; Nashville, Tenn.; Michigan; and Southern California throughout the year.
With large-format digital screens strategically located near the entrances of commercial locations, Volta stations double as a media network, allowing brands to intercept consumers’ shopping lists right before they enter a store to make a purchase. Volta’s third-party measurement solutions enable the company to determine incremental sales lift and incremental return on ad spend at the store level for retailers and brands that run campaigns on the Volta network.
The partnership allows Kroger to leverage Volta’s high-impact media inventory for its own advertising clients, growing the power of the grocer’s retail media network while driving measurable business results and environmental impact.
“Volta continues to accelerate the switch to electric transportation by making charging as convenient, accessible and affordable as possible,” said Brandt Hastings, chief commercial officer at San Francisco-based Volta. “At the same time, we are unlocking new economic opportunities for brands and retailers — proving businesses can thrive while building a sustainable future that benefits us all. “We look forward to working with Kroger to create new customer experiences and bring critical EV infrastructure to communities nationwide.”
Other retailers offering electric vehicle charging stations include Giant Food, Meijer, Save Mart, Tops Markets, Walgreens and Walmart.
Serving 60 million households annually nationwide through a digital shopping experience, and almost 2,800 retail food stores under a variety of banner names, Cincinnati-based Kroger is No. 4 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2022 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America. Walmart U.S, Walgreens, Giant Food parent company Ahold Delhaize USA, Meijer, Tops and Save Mart are Nos. 1, 5, 10, 20, 44 and 55, respectively, on PG’s list.
