IKEA is attracting electric vehicle owners and driving store traffic with a new charging station at its Las Vegas location, which follows successful installations at 13 other stores and enables consumers to pay for charging via a mobile application.

The discount furniture retailer has had a successful partnership with Blink at 13 other locations and its latest launch will be at its Las Vegas, Nevada location, further driving sales for the charge provider and solidifying its ecofriendly image. Customers can charge their vehicles by becoming a member of Blink and operating the charging session through its app.

“As a company with a strong commitment to sustainability, continuing to roll-out EV charging stations at IKEA stores helps empower our customers to live sustainably as well,” said Amy Jensen, store manager at IKEA, Las Vegas. “Here in Las Vegas, EV charging stations complement the many other measures IKEA has implemented locally such as installing Nevada’s largest single-use commercial rooftop array.”

Charging customers
Customers that have electric vehicles located nearby the bricks-and-mortar Las Vegas IKEA store are now being driven in to charge up their cars while shopping at the furniture retailer. IKEA is leveraging an opportunity to keep consumers in its stores longer, which can drive impulse sales, as well as further support a green brand image.

Blink guests can generate a code through its mobile app to start a session on the charging machine, while members will be able to initiate the session directly through their mobile apps. Users must start the charge session first, and then hook up the charger to their vehicles, similar to the experience of filling up a car with gasoline.

Users will be able to leave their vehicle charging while inside IKEA’s stores and can operate their sessions in the Blink app while shopping. Electronic vehicle owners must pay for charging their vehicles and can also do so through Blink’s app and offers discounts to members.

IKEA mobile pushes
IKEA Canada extended the shopping experience with an in-store companion app to help consumers create lists, check off collected items and find product locations from their mobile devices (see more).

An IKEA executive at the Mcommerce Summit: State of Mobile Commerce 2016 revealed that the retailer is testing a mobile program that generates QR codes for the products in customers’ carts to speed up checkout, part of an ongoing focus on in-store technology that makes shoppers’ lives easier (see more).

“The Blink Mobile app is how Las Vegas EV drivers can search for and find information about the many EV charging stations available on the Blink Network, in case they are not in front of a computer,” Ms. Jensen said.