The Internet Remains the Most Important Sales Channel for E-Cigarettes
In the United States, convenience and lower prices make the internet one of the most important sales channels for e-cigarettes. According to a new market report by ECigIntelligence, there are 180 manufacturers selling vaping products online in the U.S.
Most traffic is concentrated among top online suppliers, although their web rankings have declined since 2016.
Despite increasing traffic from countries like the UK, Canada, and Turkey, over half of the visits to leading websites still come from the U.S.
The primary source of visits is automated searches, mainly from Google, followed by direct traffic where consumers visit supplier websites directly. The influence of other channels (like email or social media) is very low.
The study shows that most leading online distributors in the U.S. have multi-brand websites, while the number of single-brand corporate websites is very low.
The report indicates significant price differences between major websites. On the other hand, the average price difference between the top 10 online retailers and the next 10 retailers is small.
Despite a downward trend in web rankings and visitor numbers for leading website brands, the internet remains the most important distribution channel for e-cigarette products in the U.S. as of 2016, with about 15% of e-cigarette users regularly purchasing products online. This percentage is even higher among vaping enthusiasts, at around 50%.
The most popular suppliers do not necessarily have the cheapest products, and although the statistics for major websites seem to be declining, they still capture a large portion of the traffic. However, there is no inherent link between website visits or interactions and revenue.
