By ATN Editorial Team
Adding to its proprietary EV fast-charging tech for retailers, Electric Era today debuts its all-new Retailer AI platform – enabling the power of AI and a voice-activated user interface to dramatically enhance the EV charging experience through a personalized concierge, new retail engagement opportunities and more.
At a time when EV charging competitors’ tech investment has slowed, Retailer AI builds on Electric Era’s momentum with a strategic investment that represents one of the firstever consumer-facing applications of AI in a retail environment in the U.S.
Similar to how the internet of things transformed devices, the long-term opportunities for Retailer AI are limitless, according to Electric Era founder and CEO Quincy Lee, a former SpaceX engineer.
“As more retailers enter the EV charging space, they’re becoming hyper-focused on their customers’ charging experiences – and they want those interactions to be brand focused and purposeful,” Lee said. “Retailer AI lays the foundation to take a customer’s EV charging experience to entirely new dimensions by providing retailers a platform to completely reimagine their engagement.”
Retailer AI works as a brand extension and customer interface point for retailers, including convenience stores, grocers, and restaurants to dramatically level-up their customers’ EV charging experience. Through AI and machine learning, Electric Era’s new tech platform enables voice-guided concierge, instant ordering on the charging screen, loyalty-based discounts, plus never-done-before engagement for retailers in the future.
Electric Era will rollout Retailer AI functionality at select charging stations later in 2025.
Boldly Enhancing the EV Charging Journey
The enhanced Retailer AI journey begins when an EV driver pulls up to an Electric Era charging station. The system can recognize vehicles, and assess their current situational needs, including battery state of charge, their distance from home and validate applicable loyalty programs.
As the voice-activated interaction continues, Retailer AI becomes a personal concierge, helping customers find nearby restaurants, shopping centers or points of interest, while displaying EV charging status and payment transactions.
Retailer AI can also integrate with the retailer’s point of sale systems to serve them shopping tips and customer-specific promotions, and allows them to shop or place orders direct from the screen or via voice – further extending the retailer’s shopping space to the parking lot.
“With the widespread adoption of electric vehicles, we need to open up opportunities for retailers to leverage charging as an opportunity to attract and retain new customers,” Lee said. “So beyond stellar reliability and industry-leading power, we’re expanding business opportunities with an ever-expanding charging platform specifically designed for retailers to leverage new business opportunities.”
Retailer-Focused Charging Unlocks the EV Era
Electric Era was founded on the mission to decarbonize and electrify transportation at retail locations – and includes using battery-backed technology to cut installation time, operational costs and power grid requirements, to ultimately create a charging infrastructure that’s more reliable, easier to install and deliver a superior charging experience.
Helping to streamline EV charging installation and improve charging reliability, ElectricEra designs and installs every charging station as a bespoke, retailer branded application, and provides ongoing maintenance for quick service retailers, convenience stores and big-box retailers nationwide, including Costco, Giant Eagle and Skycharger.
And with its patented battery–backed technology that can cut installation time by 50% (appx. six to eight months), and retrofit installations by 75% (appx. two months) – Electric Era delivers the highest power and reliability of any non-OEM EV fast-charging provider, achieving 90% session reliability (second only to Tesla) and 99% per-port uptime, and enjoys a 96% driver satisfaction rating (per PlugShare).
“Amid macroeconomic headwinds, Electric Era’s bottom-up approach to breaking down the barriers to EV adoption and creating viable revenue opportunities for retailers, is a formula for success for the industry and the company itself,” said Michael D’Aurizio, Investment Director of Climate Growth Partners at HSBC Asset Management. “Their continued innovation in the AI space will further cement their leadership among retailers looking to tap into EV charging to grow their business and revenues.”
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