Traditionally, your C-stores backbar has likely been filled with tobacco products, including cigarettes, chewing tobacco, cigars, and pipe tobacco. Historically, cigarettes have held the majority of the sales. In 2007, the market began to shift as electronic smoking devices and vaping were introduced to U.S. consumers, and in
2022 it’s estimated that 11% of Americans vape regularly. Changes are in progress that may alter how you stock your C-stores backbar in the future, and it’s important to start watching the trends now.
Some of those changes are already hitting other countries strong. In 2021, The CEO of Philip Morris International, Jacek Olczak, said the company would terminate
the sale of traditional cigarettes in the U.K. as its government is focused on a goal to ban smoking by 2030. Another manufacturer in Sweden, Swedish Match, began the first steps in divesting itself of its tobacco cigar business and is pivoting to smoke-free products such as nicotine pouches and snuff.
While it is unlikely the United States will go the same direction to eliminate smoke-related products, experts anticipate that sales for combustible products will drop to 50 percent of tobacco sales within the next ten years. That means that store owners should begin researching options for diversification and analyzing sales trends now.
While you may not see a dramatic change in your sales dollars yet, it’s essential to look at the details. In 2021, the number of cigarettes sold dropped 8.6%, and even with a 7.4% price increase, total dollar sales were still in the red. However, E-cigarettes and vaping enjoyed double-digit price growth resulting in a healthy 6.2% increase in total dollar sales.
Forecasters are looking towards new items that may replace tobacco in the future, including cannabis products. As cannabis becomes legal in more regions of the United States and legislation relaxes, it is likely convenience stores could someday soon sell buds, vaping, and edible products from the backbar. Already, many stores are seeing strong sales of CBD products that do not contain THC (the psychoactive element of marijuana.)
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