Shopping time is charging time
A trip round a garden centre, a farm shop with a café or a retail park often takes an hour or more. Every minute of that is a car sitting still.
On our dual 22kW pedestal, the car sets the speed. Most models accept 11kW on AC, adding about 37 miles of range per hour, while single-phase cars take 7.4kW for about 25 miles an hour (LGA, derived). Our 7kW vs 22kW guide explains why few cars use the full 22kW.
For a shopper, that is a meaningful top-up for the drive home. It's also a reason to linger.
What the evidence says about charging and spend
The research points the same way, even if no single survey measures your exact site.
- Destination choice: 82% of EV owners said they would choose one destination over another for better charging, and 97% said they would visit more often (Zest/CACI).
- Longer visits: 52% said they would stay 30 minutes or more longer.
- Looking for amenities: 21% of EV drivers look for retail or hospitality amenities when charging (Deloitte).
- Local spend: a US study found each new charging station raised spending at nearby businesses by 1.4% in 2019 and 0.8% across 2021–23 (MIT SMART). That's Californian data, so use it as a direction rather than a promise.
Surveys of stated intentions overstate what people actually do. We'd treat them as a sign of demand, then judge your site on its own traffic.
What customers get
- A top-up while they browse, with no separate stop on the way home.
- The price per kWh shown before they plug in.
- A choice of app, RFID card or contactless payment.
- Two sockets per pedestal, so a couple of cars can charge side by side.
- A charger that shows on Zapmap, so they can plan the visit around it.
For a regular customer, that last point matters. Once a driver knows they can charge with you, your shop becomes part of their routine.
Garden centres, farm shops and retail parks
Garden centres
Visits often include a café stop, which stretches dwell time. Customers tend to arrive by car from a wide area, and many come back regularly through the season.
Farm shops
Farm shops are usually rural, on routes where public chargers are scarce. A charger can bring in drivers who are passing through, as well as regulars.
Retail parks
Retail parks have shared car parks, many units and a landlord. Bays need to be placed where shoppers from several stores can use them. The car parks page covers bay enforcement and pricing at that scale.
How a Victus install works at a retail site
Where the pedestal goes
Visibility drives use. We look for bays near the entrance, on a sensible cable route from your board, where the pedestal can be seen from the road or the main car park lane.
At about 1.4m tall with a green LED strip, it is easy to spot. It doesn't need a canopy or a big structure.
Public access and the rules
Retail chargers are almost always open to customers, and the Public Charge Point Regulations treat customer car parks as public. The guidance names supermarket car parks as an example.
For new chargers of 8kW and above, drivers must be able to pay contactless, and the price must be shown in pence per kWh. We fit a contactless terminal where needed and run payments and driver support. Check the current guidance before you rely on any summary, ours included.
Idle fees on busy days
A charger blocked by a fully charged car on a Saturday morning helps nobody. An idle fee after a grace period keeps the bays moving. The grace period should fit how long your customers normally stay, which we set with you. Our idle fees guide has the detail.
Staff and customers
Many retailers have staff parking too. A pedestal in the staff area can charge staff cars during a shift, with RFID cards keeping those bays for staff. The workplaces page covers that side.
Which package suits a retailer
Shared Investment suits independents and single-site shops. You pay for installation and groundworks, we supply the charger and run payments, back office, monitoring, maintenance and driver support, and the revenue is shared. The revenue split is agreed for your site at proposal stage.
Owned & Managed suits retail groups and park landlords who want the full margin. You buy the chargers and installation, keep the full return and can pay us to run it all. Chargepoint equipment qualifies for a 100% first-year capital allowance until 31 March 2027 for Corporation Tax (HMRC). Check with your accountant how it applies to you. Compare both on the packages page.
Honest caveats
- Short visits mean small top-ups. A 20-minute shop adds very little range on AC. The charger suits sites where people stay an hour or more.
- Landlord consent. If you lease, the landlord usually owns the car park and may own the supply. Get them involved early.
- New builds. New non-residential buildings with more than 10 spaces need at least one chargepoint and cable routes to 1 in 5 of the other spaces under Part S (Approved Document S).
- Supply. Larger sites may need a Northern Powergrid application, which affects the typical 6–12 weeks from survey to switch-on.
We're based on Team Valley in Gateshead and cover retail sites across the North East.
Next step
Book a free survey and we'll look at your car park, your supply and where customers would actually use a charger. If you want rough numbers first, the revenue estimator shows the working behind every figure.