Who’s hot and who’s not among US retailers for EV charging
Only a measly 1% of US retailers offer EV charging stations even though they come with significant benefits and government incentives, according to Consumer Reports.
The independent research and consumer advocacy watchdog’s first-of-its-kind study, released today, evaluates the availability of EV charging stations and the commitments made by companies to provide charging at 75 of the largest national and regional retailers across the US.
Consumer Reports analyzed over 270,000 store locations across major retail categories, including big box stores, convenience stores, grocery stores, drugstores, department stores, and discount stores. EV charging is available on average at 1 out of every 14 big box store locations, 1 out of every 15 grocery stores, and 1 out of every 40 department stores.
The study asserts that installing EV chargers can be a way for brick-and-mortar retailers to increase foot traffic (an average of 4%) and revenue (5%). Most retail locations across the US are eligible for federal benefits covering 30% (up to $100,000) of installation costs.
Drew Toher, sustainability campaign manager at Consumer Reports, explained:
Retailers are uniquely positioned to address America’s charging challenge because they have easily accessible, convenient locations in virtually every community.
Companies can attract more shoppers, elevate their brand, and leverage federal incentives, while consumers benefit from the convenience of integrating EV charging into their routine stops.
The leaders and laggards
Spoiler: Except for IKEA, there are currently a lot more laggards than leaders when it comes to installed EV charging. Here’s what Consumer Reports found:
Big Box Stores: Among big box retailers like Walmart and Target, no company except IKEA currently offers EV charging at more than 10% of its locations. IKEA is the only retailer that offers EV charging at nearly 100% of its US locations – but it does need more chargers per location. Walmart is working to build its own DC fast charging network across the US.
Grocery Stores: Amazon Fresh/Whole Foods and some regional supermarkets, including Big Y, Hy-Vee, Meijer, and Raley’s, offer EV charging at over 10% of their locations. Trader Joe’s and Aldi are laggards, with a mere 10 locations combined. Lidl wins the booby prize with none.
Convenience Stores: Wawa and Sheetz lead this category, with more than 10% of locations providing EV charging. Larger chains like 7-Eleven and Circle K currently don’t offer EV charging at more than 1% of store locations. A couple of weeks ago, a Kentucky Circle K became the site of the Southeast’s first NEVI-funded EV charger, and more are in the pipeline in that state.
Department Stores: Kohl’s has installed EV charging at over 10% of its stores. Dillard’s, JCPenney, and TJX Co. combined have installed charging at fewer than 10 locations. Ross doesn’t have any.
Drugstores: Walgreens is the leader, as it’s installing EV chargers at hundreds of its store locations and committing to even more. But CVS is the laggard, as it currently offers charging at fewer than 10 store locations. Rite Aid has none. Drugstores are ideal for DC fast chargers since the average dwell time for drugstores is between 15 and 60 minutes.
Discount stores: Dollar General, Dollar Tree, and Five Below have effectively made no investments in EV charging. With their nearly 40,000 store locations, these stores could play a key role in improving access to rural and under-resourced communities.
Fast Food: This whole retail category is the biggest laggard. With nearly 128,000 US locations, the sample of fast-food companies represents the largest segment of retailers that Consumer Reports surveyed. Fewer than 200 of their locations currently offer EV chargers, and no leading fast-food company offers EV charging at more than 1% of store locations. However, Starbucks, Subway, and Chipotle have all announced plans to start installing EV infrastructure.
Prateek Suri of the nonprofit electric transport organization Forth said in response to the Consumer Reports study:
With federal funding available, this is the best time for retailers to invest in EV charging.
Echoing the recommendations in the report, we urge retailers to commit to clear timelines, prioritize equity, educate customers, and ensure proper maintenance of chargers.
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Locals call him the “Bicycle hero,” but Texas man Evan Wayne says he’s just doing what he can to help his community after it was cut off due to the recent devastating and deadly flooding tragedy.
When the local Sandy Creek flooded following torrential rains in Texas, it destroyed the only bridge into one community. Residents were cut off from access to supplies, including everything from necessities like food, water, and medicine to basic comforts.
Although the bridge was impassable to cars, volunteers who quickly organized to help the stranded residents found that the damaged bridge could still be traversed on foot. Or in the case of Evan Wayne, it could be covered by an electric bike.
Evan joined hundreds of volunteers who answered the call of grassroots organizers by working together without any official capacity. While many started by hand-pulling garden carts of supplies uphill to reach the stricken community, Evan jury-rigged a trailer to an e-bike and took on as much of the load as he could, helping shuttle much-needed food and gear into the community over hundreds of round-trip journeys.
“This was a dog trailer 48 hours ago. I had a hacksaw, hacked the top off, grabbed some bungee cords, and here we are,” explained Evan in an interview with CBS Austin, while waiting for the next load of gear to be stacked on his trailer.
In the first two days of the operation, he made around 100 round trips each day, shuttling food and water as well as critical rescue supplies. “Right now, I’m waiting on a couple of chainsaws that I’ll bring in for a crew that’s been going at it with handsaws so far.”
In addition to delivering needed supplies, Evan has often found himself moving something even more important: information. “I’ve flagged down medics. I’ve been the guy that goes between Austin EMT and STAR Flight because I’m quicker than cell phones sometimes, people don’t have signal a lot of the time.”
Evan quickly points out that he isn’t the only one helping. “I’ve got an e-bike, but other people are pulling carts. People are walking, people are carrying things. Everyone is doing what they can.” But there’s no doubt that his ability to carry more gear at higher speeds and make hundreds of round-trip journeys so far in and out of the stricken neighborhood has helped impact countless lives.
“This is all volunteers here. They’re just taking it upon themselves to get people where they need to go. I think there’s an umbrella company coming in, taking over tomorrow, but until they get here, people are just taking care of people, which is what you’ve got to do.”
E-bikes proving their worth in emergencies
While many people consider electric bicycles just another form of recreation, they’ve proven to be potent transportation alternatives after natural disasters worldwide.
Not only do their small and efficient batteries make performing hundreds of rescue trips like Evans’ possible, but recharging can be done simply and easily with a solar panel when electricity is out after a disaster. And when gas stations are out of fuel (or simply can’t pump it with the power grid down), e-bikes can keep running while gasoline-powered motorcycles or ATVs run dry.
Electric bicycle batteries have also proven to be a handy source of emergency power after hurricanes and other disasters, often helping owners keep their phones charged up for days to remain in contact with family or rescue services.
While most hope to never need theirs for emergency purposes, electric bicycles have proven their worth in countless disaster scenarios, adding benefits far beyond just alternative transportation, recreation, or fitness riding.
Image credits: CBS Austin (screenshots), used under fair use
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Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey testifies during a remote video hearing held by subcommittees of the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee on “Social Media’s Role in Promoting Extremism and Misinformation” in Washington, U.S., March 25, 2021.
Handout | Via Reuters
Block jumped more than 5% on Monday, leading a rally in shares of fintech companies as analysts downplayed the threat of JPMorgan Chase’s reported plan to charge data aggregators for access to customer financial information.
The recovery followed steep declines on Friday, after Bloomberg reported that JPMorgan had circulated pricing sheets outlining potential fees for aggregators like Plaid and Yodlee, which connect fintech platforms to users’ bank data.
In a note to clients on Monday, Evercore ISI analysts said the potential new expenses were “far from a ‘business model-breaking’ cost increase.”
In addition to Block’s rise, PayPal climbed 3.5% on Monday after sliding Friday. Robinhood and Shift4 recorded modest gains.
Broader market momentum helped fuel some of the rebound. The Nasdaq closed at a record, and crypto rallied, with bitcoin climbing past $123,000. Ether, solana, and other altcoins also gained.
Evercore ISI’s analysts said that even if JPMorgan’s changes were implemented, the most immediate effect would be a slight bump in the cost of one-time account setups — perhaps 50 to 60 cents.
Morgan Stanley echoed that view, writing that any impact would be “negligible,” especially for large fintechs that rely more on debit, credit, or stored balances than bank account pulls for transactions.
PayPal doesn’t anticipate much short-term impact, according to a person with knowledge of the issue. The person, who asked not to be named in order to speak about private financial matters, noted that PayPal relies on aggregators primarily for account verification and already has long-term pricing contracts in place.
While smaller fintechs that depend heavily on automated clearing house (ACH) rails or Open Banking frameworks for onboarding and compliance may face real pressure if the fees take effect, analysts said the larger platforms are largely insulated.
WATCH: Congress moves to redraw $3.7 trillion crypto market rules, opening door to Wall Street
The global EV market is still charging ahead. According to new numbers from global research firm Rho Motion, 9.1 million EVs were sold worldwide in the first half of 2025, up 28% compared to the same period last year. But not every region is accelerating at the same pace.
China and Europe are doing the heavy lifting
More than half of the world’s EVs this year have been bought in China. That market hit 5.5 million sales in the first six months of 2025 – a 32% jump year-over-year. Around half of new cars bought in China are now electric.
While some Chinese cities’ subsidies have dried up, Rho Motion expects momentum to pick back up later in the year as more funding is released.
In Europe, 2 million EVs were sold in the first half of the year, up 26%. Battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales also rose 26%, thanks in part to affordable models like the Renault 4 (pictured) and 5 entering the market. Plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) weren’t far behind, growing 27% year-to-date. Chinese automakers are leaning into PHEVs as a way to work around the EU’s new tariffs on BEVs.
Spain is leading the pack with EV sales soaring 85% so far this year. Its generous MOVES III incentive program was extended in April and has kept sales strong. The UK and Germany are also seeing solid growth – 32% and 40%, respectively. France, however, is slumping. With subsidies cut, EV sales there have dropped 13%.
North America is stuck in the slow lane
Things aren’t looking quite as bright in North America. EV sales in the US, Canada, and Mexico are up just 3% so far this year.
Mexico is the one bright spot, with a 20% boost. The US is up 6%. But Canada is down a whopping 23%.
And things could get bumpier. On July 4, Trump signed Congress’s big bill into law, which axes all the Inflation Reduction Act EV tax credits. Those consumer credits for EVs now officially end on September 30.
Just over half of the EVs sold in the US this year qualified for those credits. Rho Motion predicts a rush in Q3 before the subsidies disappear – and a decline in sales after that.
Rho Motion data manager Charles Lester said, “With Trump’s latest cuts in his ‘Big Beautiful Bill,’ the US could struggle to see any growth in the EV market overall in 2025.”
Global EV sales snapshot, H1 2025 vs H1 2024
- Global: 9.1 million (+28%)
- China: 5.5 million (+32%)
- Europe: 2.0 million (+26%)
- North America: 0.9 million (+3%)
- Rest of world: 0.7 million (+40%)
Read more: China breaks records as global EV sales hit 7.2 million in 2025
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