digimag-april-2022.dealerscope.comDealerscope DigiMag April 2022

× Content x DigiMag April 2022 Pulse Voices Nationwide Marketing Group Green Gadgets Home Audio Retail Rumblings Appliances EV Charging Stations Audio Smart Home Financial Services Roundup Unboxed Gen Z Consumers E-Commerce Camera Trends 2022 Sustainability Tech Toys Webcams Stat Shot Podcast Subscribe To Our Publications Get In Touch Masthead Menu In this issue, we focus on the rise of electric vehicles and what that means for the CE retailers. With new infrastructure plans to help fund charging stations across the countryand more consumers needing to juice up their EVsis it time to invest in charging spots at stores and shopping centers? Or do you just need to be selling home chargers? We look at the pros and cons of doing this sooner rather than later. Plus, the latest in home audio, the return of film cameras, and the niftiest tech toys to watch for this year. Happy reading! A WORD FROM OUR PUBLISHER On the Go I live in the Sunnyside section of Long Island City in NYC. We have a wonderful, diverse neighborhood, with bikes lanes all over our streets. On a normal day, I see multiple forms of mobility. From e-bikes, to e-scooters, even to electric unicycles – the way we move around has changed, and has enhanced our daily lives. Use cases run the gamut from the Grub Hub delivery personnel on these electric vehicles to Waymo’s self-driving ride-hailing service in Phoenix. Pretty remarkable. In our April issue, we examine mobility from all angles, and look at EV chargers as well. With a big nod to Earth Day on April 22nd, our issue covers the key factors of energy management, a review of sustainable appliances and an eco-product roundup, and we have a notable feature themed, What CE retailers can learn about sustainability from wireless companies.” Make sure to check out the latest trends in Home Audio, the latest in webcams, our new Unboxed review, and much more. We also do a recap of multiple shows that our industry has successively held in the last few months. It has been great to travel and see our clients and readers on the road. I am hopeful that we are making lasting progress in ending this pandemic. If you have not done so, please make sure you get our multiple versions of Dealerscope every month – the digital issues can be subscribed here — and while you’re commuting to celebrate mobility, listen to our Audio Version of Dealerscope at (we update this every month). As always, any comments and/or questions – please contact me at tmonteleone@ctlab.media – our great team would love to hear from you! Tony Monteleone, Group Publisher of CT Lab Global Media A WORD FROM OUR EDITOR IN CHIEF Facing Off With Fossil Fuels: Electric Vehicles Are Here To Stay The barrage of high-profile ads during Super Bowl LVI for EVs from BMW, General Motors, Kia, Nissan, and Polestar – not to mention EV chargers from Wallbox – were widely considered to herald the mainstream debut of fuel-cell vehicles in January. But flash forward one month and rising gas prices – particularly ever since the war in Ukraine got going – may ultimately sound the death knell for the era of fossil fuels. With crude oil prices at their highest since 2008 and the resulting gas prices, at press time, around $7 a gallon in California, it’s hard not to wonder what that eventually adds to the cost of everything from shipping and deliveries to shopper trips to the mall. Of course, gas prices go up and down all the time, but with EVs on the rise anyway, they may add an extra incentive in the electric direction. And, of course, sustainability continues to be a driver of sales for electric vehicles, with 43 percent of Gen Z consumers saying the U.S. should phase out fossil fuels and 57 percent of Millennials in favor of phasing out new gas cars, according to GfK. The same research found that 60 percent of all those surveyed (including Gen Z and Baby Boomers) expect their primary vehicle to be an electric one within the next six years. It also found that electric vehicles will make up 20 percent of the auto sales market in that same time frame. That’s why it’s time for us to focus on e-mobility as a topic for this month’s issue of Dealerscope , particularly as it applies to retailers. On a recent episode of the always fair-minded Brian Lehrer Show on New York’s WNYC, EV owners were invited to call in. One caller explained how she always stops at a shopping center on Long Island to charge her Tesla and visits the unique mix of stores there while she waits. As Blink President Brendan Jones told writer John Quain in his story about EV chargers in the retail context on page 28, rapid chargers can now juice up in as little as 30 minutes, which is a found 30 minutes a consumer can spend shopping in-store. Not a bad prospect in this era of online shopping supremacy. Considering that EV sales jumped 72 percent in 2021 – and many state and federal subsidies still in effect to keep that juggernaut fueled – retailers must start to seriously consider the opportunities that EV chargers in retail locations offer. On the supply chain side, the rising cost of delivery may well speed up the burgeoning electric truck and van market, which was on display earlier this year at CES. GM’s BrightDrop announced agreements to supply both Walmart and FedEx with its electric delivery vehicles, while Amazon announced a deal to add Stellantis’s electric Ram ProMaster to its EV delivery fleet (which also includes EV vans from Rivian). Sustainability in and of itself may not have been a huge driver of EV sales in the past. However, the current rising price of gas – and the tragic, violent, and horrific reasons why that price is currently rising — will certainly shock many into exploring the next generation of technologies that make them less dependent not only on oil, but also on those who use this finite resource to wield power. Tom Samiljan GREEN GADGETS Green Gadgets for 2022 Recycled materials, sustainable packaging, and energy efficiency are just some of the features in this year’s crop of sustainable electronics. By STEPHEN SILVER Sustainability, efficiency, and green have been watchwords in the industry for many years, more so than ever with a slew of new products unveiled at CES in January. Here are some of the more promising or appealing ones, many of which are hitting the market already and will continue to do so throughout the year. Super73 and Indian Motorcycle’s eFTR Hooligan 1.2 Electric Bicycle The e-bike brand Super73 and Indian Motorcycle in early March teamed up to announce the eFTR Hooligan 1.2 which, the companies said, combines a trusted electric powertrain from SUPER73 with moto-inspired styling from Indian Motorcycle.” That product is set to arrive in the spring. Super73 late last year had announced a new e-bike battery-recycling program, along with PeopleForBikes and Call2Recycle. Acer Aspire Vero National Geographic Edition Among Acer’s lineup of laptops this year is this special edition of its Vero product, which is made from 100 percent post-consumer recycled plastic. Plus, every purchase of the laptop helps to support the National Geographic Society, which promotes conservation and science education (in addition to publishing a great magazine). Lenovo Yoga 6 Lenovo’s Yoga line is marking its 10th anniversary this year with the launch of a new line of laptops. The company says that the Yoga 6, a 13-inch convertible laptop, is inspired by all the ways we make choices in our daily lives that affect the environment.” It comes in a dark teal color that is made with recycled materials, which includes a cover from recycled materials and battery cells, 25 percent of which come from post-consumption plastic. In addition, the product ships in sustainable paper packaging from responsibly managed and FSC-certified forests.” Beko BioCycle Refrigerator Beko has announced an eco-friendly product line for 2022, and part of that is the BioCycle Refrigerator, which strives for sustainability using materials that are...