Sales up 4.3%, volume down 8.9%: price hikes gain momentum in US convenience-channel e-cigarettes

According to U.S. retail media, as the FDA intensifies its regulation of e-cigarettes and the decision on whether to ban flavored cigars is expected to be announced this fall, convenience store operators are reassessing their inventories to adapt to market changes.

Data from Chicago-based market research firm Circana shows that as of June 18 this year, cigar sales in convenience stores remained relatively flat (down 0.3%) at $4 billion, with sales units down 1.3%. Meanwhile, e-cigarette products saw a sales increase of 4.3%, reaching $7.09 billion, but sales units decreased by 8.9%, likely due to a 14.5% increase in unit prices.

For example, in Alabama's Grub Mart's 11 stores, flavored cigars are the growth engine in the tobacco subcategory. In terms of e-cigarettes, the Vuse brand is the most popular, especially the tobacco flavor.

A significant reason behind this is that due to inflation, particularly the rise in cigarette prices, more smokers are turning to e-cigarettes. At Grub Mart, the e-cigarette business continues to grow due to the rising prices of traditional cigarette brands. In Minnesota, however, cigar sales in convenience stores are declining due to higher taxes, packaging restrictions, and flavor bans.

It is worth noting that due to the unique nature of the U.S. market, the e-cigarettes sold through convenience store channels are primarily from multinational tobacco companies' e-cigarette brands, so this data has limited reference value for the overall e-cigarette market in the U.S.