RaceTrac has also added Level 2 EV charging stations at some sites, placing them under a separate canopy to offer customers the same experience as using the gasoline and diesel fuel pumps. “They aren’t too busy, but usage is tracking to what we forecast,” Isaac Dymkowski, executive director of fuels, pricing and trading, told CSP. He said the Level 2 chargers are not the fastest on the market, and the average charging time by RaceTrac customers is about a half hour. RaceTrac plans to add EV charging stations to all new builds, he said.
Installing EV chargers can lead to increased in-store sales for retailers, but it’s not guaranteed. Dymkowski said RaceTrac hasn’t yet seen much lift in in-store sales. “Nothing major,” he said. For others, the higher “dwell time” by customers re-charging their cars increases spending in the store, especially when high-quality food and beverages are offered. A study by ChargePoint, a Campbell, California, company, found that businesses with chargers (not just c-stores) saw a 50% increase in dwell time, and customer spend was up to three time higher than average, especially at sites located near highways.
Fuels consultant Santos said the onus is on c-store retailers to make their stores safe, clean, inviting and well-stocked. Offering high-quality food and beverages, and clean restrooms, are imperative, she said, to attracting EV owners to charge their vehicles at a c-store.
Ethanol continues to be offered at many c-store forecourts, including RaceTrac sites. “We have E85 at about 100 sites and Unleaded 88 or E15 at about 200 sites,” Dymkowski said. He’s paying attention to hydrogen. “I think that's a science experiment at this point.” The distribution and production doesn't seem to be commercially viable, he said, and only a few auto manufacturers are making commercial vehicles for hydrogen fuel. “It seems so clean. I wonder what the future might hold. We’re watching, but nothing’s coming to the forefront.”