Anila Siraj shares her insights as the author of this article from CSP Daily News.

As the electric evolution gains momentum and more retailers are starting to make this a core part of their strategy, it’s vital to consider how the overall offer could be reimagined to focus on the driver rather than the vehicle.

Historically, the focus for many fuel and convenience retailers has been a vehicle-centric offer— including quick-fueling, carwash, vehicle servicing, etc.—with other offers for the consumer peripheral to the vehicle needs. While we’ve seen changes over the years, with more foodservice, seating, Wi-Fi capabilities and other amenities, in most cases, these have been secondary and not directly linked to optimizing the time that the driver spends while refueling. There is now a need to expand on this and somewhat flip it on its head.

The average time spent to refuel an Internal Combustible Engine (ICE) vehicle is seven minutes, just enough time to buy a coffee/snack and perhaps use the restroom. The electric vehicle (EV) driver will be spending a minimum of 15 minutes, and up to 30-45 minutes, recharging. Not every retailer has space to build a store the likes of Buc-ee’s, offering a host of driver-focused services, so what’s the right mix? And how do convenience retailers compete with all the non-fuel retailers and other businesses getting in on the EV-charging game?

Read the full article here.