LAS VEGAS -- The amount of information coming out of the first day of NATO Show educational sessions is always a bit overwhelming. We at CSP Daily News have picked out the good, the bad and the “WTF” stats tobacco retailers need to know.
The Good:
51,000
Now in its 15th year, NATO’s membership spans 51,000 locations across the United States, according to the organization’s executive director, Thomas Briant.
13 cents
While many credit an improved cigarette environment with falling dual costs, Management Science Associates (MSA) actually tracked the phenomenon. From September to December of 2015, MSA found a concrete correlation, reporting that consumers were spending 9 cents less on gas and 13 cents more on tobacco.
The Bad:
0.3%
MSA’s market-basket data suggests 29% of c-store purchases a include tobacco product—but only 0.3% include a vapor product.
43
Banning flavored tobacco has become popular at the local level, with numerous states, cities and counties proposing such measures. Briant said Massachusetts has led the charge, with 43 local legislatures passing flavor bans.
The WTF:
16%
Just last week, the CDC reported that 16% of high school students are using electronic cigarettes. “What they left out was the drop in combustible-cigarette use,” said Wells Fargo analyst Bonnie Herzog. That's disappointing given that the U.K. recently came out in favor of e-cigs, describing them as 95% less harmful than cigarettes.
86%
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) own study shows 86% of minors are getting cigarettes not from retail but from social sources. Meanwhile, retailers continue to pass FDA compliance checks more than 90% of the time.
“Adopting more regulations is not going to reduce youth access because retailers are doing such a great job,” Briant said. “But the ‘antis’ keep pushing minimum-age regulations because it’s easier to restrict retailers than to educate individuals to do the right thing (with buying tobacco for minors).”
Other Tweetable Facts:
94%
MSA data suggests 94% of c-store cig-alike sales come from the five top-selling brands (Vuse, blu, MarkTen, Logic and V2). Vuse alone accounts for 60% of volumes. That’s good news for retailers feeling overwhelmed by the e-cig category.
27%
While 75% of combustible cigarettes in the United States are sold at convenience stores, just 27% of vapor products go through convenience. According to Herzog, this is actually good news for retailers: It presents a huge long-term opportunity.
$90 billion
Total global tobacco sales
60%
Amount Reynolds’ Vuse makes up in c-store cig-alike volumes
Average amount spent per c-store visit by tobacco shoppers, compared to just $6 for those not purchasing tobacco
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.