Feature: EV charging T


he growing number of EV drivers in the UK will need to recharge their vehicles somewhere while they are


out and about. Destinations like garden centres are a prime location to do so.


Enhance the customer experience with EV charging Providing charging facilities for the 1,000,000+ fully electric cars and 620,000 plug-in hybrids on UK roads will attract more customers and increase dwell time. Customers will need to stay longer at the charging location while they wait for their EVs to charge – at a garden centre, this time could be spent shopping, eating, relaxing, catching up with friends and watching their children play. The customer experience is everything in a competitive market, and EV drivers will favour a site where they can occupy their time whilst their vehicle charges, over a place where they have no choice but to sit in their vehicle.


Retain your customer base and attract new visitors Offering a quality customer experience at EV charging hubs will become increasingly important as the electric mobility transition continues. Competition for driver loyalty will increase as more landowners and destinations introduce EV charging. Just like we return to our favourite cafes when we want a coffee, drivers will begin to return to the same EV charging hub if they have a positive experience. Garden centre owners can establish consumer habits in their favour and prevent existing customers from frequenting other locations by installing and offering EV charging now. After all, it is easier to retain customers than it is to build a brand-new customer base. And, when EV drivers who have not visited


your centre before realise you have charge points, they are likely to pay you a visit, providing you with new customers to your garden centre.


Position your garden centre as being environmentally-friendly Providing EV charging adds another layer to an organisation’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) commitments. Garden centres are already playing their part in our country’s net zero journey by banning single-use plastics and increasing the use of recyclable materials. Investing in EV charging makes a statement that a garden centre is supporting the UK’s shift towards a transport model that has a lower environmental impact. Charge points add more weight to sustainability credentials, making a centre more attractive for customers and employees. And garden centres with charge points already installed report impressive reductions in CO2 from visitor travel, especially when the energy comes from renewable sources.


10 | www.gardencentreupdate.com


Blue Diamond reaps rewards from EV charging


Blue Diamond is the second largest garden centre group in the UK and the Channel Islands. When looking for new ways to enhance the customer experience at its centres, Blue Diamond saw an opportunity to install EV charge points across its country-wide portfolio. As a sustainability-conscious organisation with measures including banning single-use plastics and looking for peat-free alternatives in its compost to help reduce its carbon footprint, EV charging was a logical next step for Blue Diamond. Alan Roper, Managing Director of Blue Diamond Group said, “Mer is an excellent fit for our ethos on the installation of charging stations in our car parks – thanks to the supply of 100% green energy to all chargers and a


Turn your garden centre into an EV charging hotspot


By 2030, 80% of new cars and 70% of new vans sold in Great Britain will now be zero emission. By 2035, this figure rises to 100%. Elizabeth Warren, Director of Public Charging at Mer UK, discusses how the inevitable shiſt towards electric mobility presents a golden opportunity for garden centres to install public EV charging infrastructure.


flexible charging option for our customers to use whilst visiting our centres.” Mer began rolling out Blue Diamond’s


charging infrastructure in 2023. Its visitors and local residents to the garden centres have the option of charging via a mix of Mer’s fast, rapid and ultra-rapid charge points. Over 5,250 unique customers have charged at Mer’s Blue Diamond sites so far. To date, in excess of 200,000 kilowatt hours have been vended across the portfolio, enabling more than 600,00 green EV miles. From attracting more customers to elevating sustainability credentials, the benefits of installing EV charging are endless. It is no wonder that garden centres across the UK are developing EV charging infrastructure at their locations. You can bring reliable, quality EV charging infrastructure to your garden centre, find out how with Mer. Mer is a European EV charging company,


backed by Statkraft, Europe’s largest renewable energy generator. By bringing together its extensive expertise in renewables and electric mobility, Mer is on a mission to make EV charging simple, sustainable, and accessible to everyone. For more information visit uk.mer.eco/ charging-solutions/commercial-landowners


GCU April 2024


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12