Imagine it’s 5 pm, and you just got off work but need to charge your electric vehicle (EV). You plug in at the shopping center on your way home because you need to stop by the grocery store to pick up dinner. An ad on the charging station display lets you know there’s a great sale on chicken breasts inside, so you make a mental note to pick those up. As you navigate the store, another digital display presents a quick and delicious chicken stir fry recipe with aisle locations for the ingredients. Now you have a new recipe to try out with the chicken you’re buying.
These aren’t fantastical ideas but audience engagement opportunities that are quickly becoming new realities for retailers and brands. They’re made possible, in part, by accelerating EV adoption rates and an uptick in retailers embracing intelligent in-store advertising displays as part of their retail media network (RMNs) strategies.
Let’s take these developments one at a time. US EV sales continued growing in 2022, up nearly 65 percent from 2021, and are set to command an even bigger slice of the market this year. With increased EV adoption, demand for public charging stations— often strategically located near shopping malls and retail centers—is only expected to grow. And increasingly, these charging stations are equipped with digital displays, which provide new ways for retailers and brands to connect with EV owners. Given the duration of charges, these individuals are likely open to suggestions for nearby activities as they wait for their battery to fill up. When deployed in high-traffic environments, these displays can also capture the attention of anyone who passes by the screens, making them a valuable asset for promoting goods and services in an environment where people are ready to buy.
The next part of the equation has to do with the in-store environment. Whether in the aisles, at the pickup counter, or by the register, digital point-of-purchase signage is ideal for delivering messages that bring value to shoppers inside the store. They provide far greater purchasing flexibility than traditional media offerings; a digital ad could conceivably be bought and displayed on the same day, whereas conventional in-store placements are arranged months in advance. They are also far easier to coordinate with the online retail media offerings that have become so common in recent years. And, when paired with advertising on EV chargers outside of a store, they’re an incredible tool for guiding a shopper’s journey from the moment they arrive in the parking lot to the point of purchase.
But there’s more to it than just the ideal placements of these screens in and around purchasing environments. Today, 73% of consumers point to an experience as an essential purchasing decision factor. Digital displays deliver on this experience as well as or better than just about any other advertising medium. Recent years have seen an explosion in creative executions in all areas of the digital out-of-home space, with full-motion video, interactive, and dynamic content all showing the power of digital creative in real-world spaces. And it’s not all about flash. Audiences have also been shown to trust OOH ads more than other marketing channels.
Within the intersecting spaces of EV charging and in-store display advertising, there are countless exciting ways to motivate a purchase or action with contextually relevant, trustworthy messages. The screens can be used to share promotions, highlight products and services, encourage engagement on social channels, draw attention to local events of interest, and much more.
With both spaces growing at a breakneck pace, these opportunities will only proliferate. As choice increases and compelling campaigns are delivered across a combo of EV charging and in-store screens, expect to see this type of media buy become more habitual and enticing for retailers and brands trying to reach buyers in a purchasing mindset.
There is something in it for consumers too. Context-specific media buys like these are successful because they offer valuable information that is relevant to the space and moment in which the ads are seen. Ultimately, they can help improve community engagement and inform consumers about new products, services, events, and stores they may have yet to think to explore.
All this said, we’re still in the early days. EV charging networks with media displays are relatively nascent, and retail media networks with in-store displays are still evolving. Retailers who take the initiative now to explore these new opportunities can reach shoppers at all stages of their retail visit, however, there’s a chance to build advantages that will last for years.