Customers need to look around

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At Kaufland and also at Lidl there are serious changes for customers. A popular service is now being discontinued.

Prices are skyrocketing in all supermarkets and discounters, including popular retail chains such as Kaufland and Lidl. Now there is bitter news for consumers. Because Kaufland and Lidl are hiring a popular service. So far, this was free of charge – in future customers can only use it for a fee.

Free service will be discontinued

Aldi has already shown how, since June, consumers have not been able to charge their e-cars for free while shopping. Previously it was possible, if you parked at Aldi, you might also use the charging stations in the parking lots free of charge. But this is now a thing of the past, and the discounter now charges around 40 cents per kWh for this service.

Now Lidl and Kaufland are following suit. The previously free charging should also be discontinued here. The background: Many e-car drivers block the charging station, which is actually only intended for customers, even though they are not shopping in the relevant shop.

Non-customers are no longer allowed to charge their cars

In the past, numerous customers have repeatedly complained that the charging stations were simply blocked. For many non-customers, the service of the shops was apparently a public matter, especially since there is still no nationwide supply of charging stations. In this respect, people like to fall back on the offer of the mostly centrally located supermarkets.

Kaufland, for example, already offers charging stations in over 120 branches. There, customers can charge their cars with green electricity. With the help of a corresponding charging can be done easily while shopping. There are also more and more charging options at Lidl. The discounter now even offers these in over 320 branches.

Only customers are allowed to charge their car

Lidl has created an app requirement for this. Customers must register with this app, otherwise they cannot take advantage of the charging offer. This makes it difficult for non-customers to top up. And the next step is already being planned. Now the charging stations are generally subject to a charge. Another measure to prevent non-customers from charging up in the future.

How exactly this changeover and the corresponding concept will look like is not yet known. The system will probably be similar to that at Aldi. There, customers pay a lower price for charging than non-customers.