Many companies and tobacco brands report that their customer breakdown by gender hovering around 80/20, with males being the predominate sex. This figure does not mean tobacco retailers should completely ignore their female customers. In fact, for those retailers looking to expand their customer base, they should try to grow their female customer base. This, sometimes, can be easier said than done when the bulk of the tobacco industry is built around a male lifestyle vibe.
Amy Tejada, a tobacconist working in New York, had this advice to offer to other tobacco retailers: “It would be great if retailers would hold their female customers with the same regard as their male customers. Women appreciate when retailers ask questions before assuming their preferences simply because they are women. ”
Delicia Silva, known to the industry as Cigar Vixen, added: “Women are women, whether we smoke cigars or not. We enjoy hanging around other women, having ‘girl time’, enjoying a glass of wine with a cigar, unwinding from work and planning our futures. The marketing and outreach remains targeted to a male audience, some manufacturers have changed ads to appeal to a slightly younger demographic but still doesn’t necessarily target women. This has always seemed backwards to me because if you can appeal to a woman, men will follow. Not necessarily vice versa.”
