Replacement Pods Up 6%; Disposables Vapes Grow Strongly; E-liquid Down.
Disposables vape sales continued to grow strongly in the third quarter of 2021, up 21%.
During TMA’s “From Change to Change” webinar on November 17, MSA Vice President Don Burke said he expects the industry to continue to grow through 2022.
“Vaping is up 18.5%. From 2019 to 2020, we’re seeing a decline in vaping sales. One thing to keep in mind is the illegal THC vape crisis that happened at the end of 2019,” Burke said. “That made a lot of people quit vaping, even though it was just an illegal product that was causing problems. No legal products were causing any problems. It’s been about a year and a half since that happened, so consumers are starting to forget, and vaping are back,”
Because they are allowed to have flavors, Disposable vapes are up 28.9%, and the number of all-in-one kits is growing, up 2.9%, Burke said.
He said Sales at vaping and tobacco specialty stores are also up after many closed or restricted hours of operation due to the Covid pandemic.
MSA’s study included about 300,000 stores, not including vape store sales.
“We are looking for retail data on distributor shipments. In many cases, this is important because many convenience stores and some tobacco stores don’t collect their data, so it’s hard to get a clear read,” he said. He said. “The convenience channel – because they are considered essential businesses in much of the US – managed to survive the pandemic, and in fact, stores now account for a much larger percentage. In addition, 71% of tobacco sales are through convenience stores.”
Closed system vape products grew 6% in the past three months.
Sales of disposable vapes continued to grow strong in the third quarter of 2021, growing 21%, Burke said. E-Liquid distribution is down 49.6% through 2020 and 2021, and sales are down nearly 15%, primarily due to recent regulatory actions in the US.
