Could EV Charging Bring More Visitors to Your Property?

EV adoption continues to accelerate, with electric vehicles accounting for nearly 10% of new U.S. vehicle sales in 2025. For retail properties, this creates an opportunity to attract new visitors, increase on-site spending, and enhance the customer experience through EV charging. But attracting EV drivers requires more than simply installing chargers. The most successful charging locations aren’t simply places with chargers. They’re places people already want to visit.

A recent industry report analyzing more than 4,000 DC fast charging stations found that utilization is driven by location, nearby amenities, and the overall customer experience. Stations near grocery stores averaged 42 charging sessions per day, nearly five times the network median, while locations surrounded by 11 or more amenities achieved seven times higher utilization than more isolated sites.

While this study focused specifically on DC Fast Charging, many of the underlying principles apply to Level 2 charging as well. Drivers consistently value convenient locations, nearby amenities, reliability, and charging options that align with how long they plan to stay. Whether the goal is a quick stop or an extended visit, the most successful charging locations are those that complement the customer experience.

In many ways, EV drivers charge where they go and go where they charge. Charging influences where people choose to stop, while destinations influence where people choose to charge. This creates a powerful opportunity for retail properties that already offer the amenities, services, and experiences drivers value.

This concept isn’t unique to EV charging. Retailers have long used clustering strategies by locating near complementary businesses to increase visibility, traffic, and customer convenience. EV charging extends that strategy by attracting drivers who are actively looking for places to stop, spend time, and engage with nearby businesses.

EV Charging: A New Way to Drive Foot Traffic

For retail properties, EV charging is more than an amenity. It’s a customer acquisition and retention tool that helps attract new visitors, increase dwell time, and influence where customers choose to shop, dine, and spend their time. It also provides access to a highly desirable customer segment, with more than 75% of EV drivers reporting household incomes above $100,000 annually.

Properties that invest in EV Charging benefit from:

• Increased visibility across vehicle navigation systems, charging apps, and mapping platforms
• New visitor traffic that may not have otherwise visited the property
• Increased dwell time, creating more opportunities for customer engagement and spending
• Access to higher-income consumers with strong purchasing power
• Additional spending on food, retail, entertainment, and services during charging sessions
• Enhanced customer convenience and satisfaction
• Stronger differentiation from nearby competitors
• Increased customer loyalty and repeat visitation

The most successful properties recognize that EV charging is more than infrastructure. It’s a strategic tool for attracting customers, increasing engagement, and creating long-term value for both tenants and property owners.

Reliability Is Essential to a Successful Charging Strategy

Location may attract EV drivers, but reliability is what keeps them coming back.

Even the best property can create a poor customer experience if charging stations are unavailable, difficult to use, or out of service. A failed charging session doesn’t just result in lost charging revenue. It can negatively impact the customer’s perception of the entire property. It can lead to customer frustration, negative reviews, and missed opportunities to build loyalty.

That’s why successful EV charging deployments require more than simply installing chargers. They begin with a utilization and site assessment, then incorporate the right charger mix, site design, network management, maintenance, monitoring, and long-term operational support to maximize performance, reliability, and customer satisfaction.

Ready to Explore the Opportunity?

Everged simplifies EV charging from strategy and deployment to monitoring and ongoing support. Our team helps properties identify the right charging solution to maximize utilization, enhance the customer experience, and create long-term value.

Contact Everged for a complimentary property assessment and discover how the right EV charging strategy can attract more visitors, increase customer spending, and create lasting value for your property.