Surprisingly, despite healthy sales overall, e-liquid sales have been declining—an indication that the open systems once viewed as promising are losing steam with vapers. E-liquid volume sales are down by 33 percent in tobacco outlets and by 59 percent in c-stores, according to MSA’s research. By contrast, cartridge volume is up by 15 percent in outlets and by 20 percent in c-stores.
“What is coming on are vaporizers, devices where you just put in a cartridge,” says Burke.
“Those are really starting to drive this category.” Offering both convenience and greater safety, closed-system vaping devices appeal to a wider array of customers, especially now that the latest product introductions offer a better experience than their less sophisticated predecessors.
“Clearly consumers are moving away from cigarettes and toward harm reduction [options],” says Burke, who notes that additional harm reduction options will be entering the market in 2018. “Consumers are investigating their options. Over the rest of the year, we’ll see how interest in heat-not-burn [products] develops.”
This story first appeared in the March/April 2018 issue of Tobacco Business magazine. Members of the tobacco industry are eligible for a complimentary subscription to our magazine. Click here for details.
– Story by Jennifer Gelfand, editor in chief of Tobacco Business Magazine
