Dive Brief:

• Kroger has installed advertising-supported electric vehicle charging stations from Volta outside 16 supermarkets in the Atlanta and Indianapolis areas, according to a Tuesday press release.
• The grocery chain also plans to add the equipment near the entrances of an unspecified number of locations in Cincinnati; Columbus, Ohio; Louisville, Kentucky; Nashville, Tennessee; Michigan and Southern California later in 2022.
• The charging stations build on Kroger’s existing retail media network, enabling Kroger to present digital messages to shoppers immediately before they enter the store.

Dive Insight:

Kroger’s partnership with Volta gives the retailer another way to connect with consumers when they visit its stores, expanding its ability to monetize its relationships with people when they shop for groceries.

The charging units feature large-format video screens that carry advertisements for the grocer’s advertising clients, which allow companies to reach shoppers just as they are preparing to walk into a store and load their carts with goods. Volta, which launched its own advertising platform last November, uses third-party tools to measure the ability of the units it supplies to drive sales and determine the return for advertisers who place ads on the screens.

Kroger’s decision to partner with Volta follows announcements by Ahold Delhaize banners Stop & Shop and Giant Food that they had struck deals to install charging stations from the company outside stores they operate.

Claire Battista, a spokesperson for Volta, said in an email the company is offering a combination of free and paid charging for Kroger shoppers, depending on the charging speed. The charging stations at Stop & Shop and Giant Food stores are free to use.

Volta is banking on growing interest in electric vehicles to power its partnerships with grocers and other retailers. Beyond marketing its equipment as a way to display advertising to consumers just as they are ready to make purchase decisions, Volta emphasizes the link between its business model and reducing vehicle emissions as a key selling point.

“Volta continues to accelerate the switch to electric transportation by making charging as convenient, accessible, and affordable as possible,” Brandt Hastings, the company’s chief commercial officer, said in a statement. 

Volta says its charging systems have helped save nearly 4 million gallons of gas and provided power for electric vehicles to travel more than 124 million miles.