Global Partners is dipping its toe in the water with EV charging, said James Cater, electric innovation strategist at the Waltham, Massachusetts-based c-store chain. A third-party owner has been operating DC Fast EV charging at one Global Partners site, but the chain just recently launched its own fast-charging stations at two locations.
The first at an XtraMart store opened in September in Worchester and a second in Fort Edwards, New York. “It’s pretty exciting,” Cater told CSP, adding that he expects another half dozen sites to open in coming weeks.
“We are really ramping it up,” Cater said, adding that there’s no data yet on how the chargers affect traffic but, anecdotally, there’s been solid use. “We really want to connect the customer experience from when the customer pulls into one of our sites to when they leave.”
Understanding how customers interact with the charging stations is a big part of Global Partners effort, Cater said, looking at “what those customers might buy that might be different from what a gas-vehicle customer buys.
“[We’re looking at] what those customers might buy that might be different from what a gas-vehicle customer buys.”
“We think there’s an opportunity for us to take advantage of those extra minutes because you’re going to average between 25 and 30 minutes for somebody charging their vehicle. That’s an opportunity for us to get them to have an interest in our products, services and amenities on site.”