Vaping was a new technology in 2010, but by 2017, it had become a worldwide sensation. While uptake was first slow, vaping is now recognised as a potentially effective approach for assisting adult smokers in exploring nicotine substitutes.
While many individuals use a vaping device to make the switch from smoking, many others simply want a nicotine alternative to cigarettes. According to Public Health England, vaping is 95% less harmful than smoking, making it an especially acceptable alternative.
Whatever the reason, people have flocked to vaping in droves in recent years. According to the most recent studies, 7-8% (or around 3.2 million people) of the UK population currently vape.
Without a doubt, the industry’s development has been rapid and fruitful, but it has not been without difficulties. The general public, like with any new technology, has raised worries about health and safety, as well as the usage of vaping as a nicotine substitute for cigarettes.
Slowly but gradually, concerns are being addressed; in the two most recent governmental reviews on vaping, there is rising evidence in favour of using vape devices to mitigate the harm caused by tobacco. Yet, several critical concerns remain unresolved and will need long-term data to give answers.
Despite this, the retail power of vaping products is gradually increasing and will be attentively monitored. A range of crucial variables, ranging from possible regulatory changes in response to the rising use of disposable vapes among young people to changing consumer behaviour in the midst of the cost of living crisis, has the potential to affect the vaping environment in 2023/24.
The year 2022, in retrospect
Vaping reached a tipping point in 2022; the current trend is found in the form of disposable vapes, being available in UK retailers since 2021. This type of vaping has seen a rapid ascension to market domination and has far-reaching consequences, both positive and negative.
Traditional vaping product sales decreased while pre-filled disposable unit sales increased, a trend that will not be reversed until December 2022. This propensity grew as many consumers became financially disadvantaged as a result of the rising cost of living, which was compounded by Brexit missteps, political infighting, the COVID-19 outbreak, and the Ukraine war.
The buying and binning of disposable vapes
Disposable vapes first appeared in the UK, offering customers the most convenient way to vape that we had ever seen. Because of the powerful yet smooth nicotine salt e-liquid and an astounding choice of flavours ranging from regular offerings to sweet and fruity combinations, the devices were eye-catching, harsh on cravings yet gentle on the throat.
Because they are single-use and pre-filled, there is no coil to deal with and no potentially messy refilling process; users simply puff and discard. Customers enthusiastically responded, resulting in disposable vapes acquiring a 90% market share in terms of unit sales by November 2022.
Bottled e-liquids and rechargeable devices initially had flat sales. According to data, the significant increase in vaping retail was limited to disposable vapes; these customers had never previously used other vaping goods, implying that the unit sales could be attributed to either nonsmokers or vapers. This is a moral issue in and of itself (you should not start smoking or vaping if you have never done so), but it also indicates an alarming increase in the number of young people taking up the habit.
While the strong demand for disposable vapes provided a lucrative opportunity for retailers, their growth was halted in December 2022. While there is still room for distribution growth, most retail establishments currently stock at least one sort of disposable vaping device, making future expansion difficult. To take into account, there has also been a shift in consumer perception, which contributes to the current reduction.
The public’s trust in these devices has been shaken for a number of reasons, including:
- Illegal import and sale of unregulated disposable vapes that do not satisfy UK safety regulations. The statutory limitations for safe nicotine content and e-liquid volume are regularly exceeded by these devices (as seen in recent headlines).
- To protect customers and educate store owners on compliance, Trading Standards has performed large stock seizures and investigations across the UK.
- The devices are entirely made of non-recyclable materials such as lithium. They are littered on a regular basis, and those that are properly disposed of are transported to a landfill. This translates to the annual loss of enough lithium to manufacture 1,200 electric vehicles.
- A serious youth access issue persists. TikTok and other social media platforms are encouraging underage teenagers to purchase fashionable vaping equipment. One in every five 15-year-olds currently uses disposable vapes, according to polls.
- Children can receive devices from a variety of sources. Local enterprises and marketplaces, as well as huge supermarkets, have been identified as possible underage sales sources.
These infamous events have begun to have an influence on customer behaviour, paving the way for traditional vaping goods to have a better year in 2023.
The expense of living has affected the country
Economic challenges had a big influence on the development of the vaping sector in 2022; in many situations, cost of living issues made basic necessities costly.
This includes:
- Food inflation in Ukraine owing to resource constraints as the conflict with Russia grows
- Gasoline costs are rising
- Nationwide shortages of imported commodities as a result of post-Brexit infrastructural weakness
These concerns have brought to their knees families who are already struggling to recover from the pandemic.
As a result, the general public browsed significantly more. Because 33% of buyers could hardly afford the requirements, many had to discontinue using vaping goods entirely. Discounters that sell low-cost disposable vapes performed best in the second half of 2022, but even these saw a decrease in average consumer spending.
In November and December, 54% of Vyper consumer app users said they bought less e-liquid to prioritise other expenditures.
What will the year 2023 bring?
This year has seen some positive indicators of growth in the vaping industry. While disposable vapes appear to be declining for the first time in 18 months, bottled e-liquids and vintage vaping devices and pods appear to be increasing, indicating that consumer spending may be levelling off after the largest Christmas dip in at least three years.
Discount stores have a big influence on the vaping industry, with large variations in sales as customers flock to them looking for the cheapest way to vape. Consumers will continue to look for methods to save because the energy price cap is set to be raised in the coming weeks, so this is unlikely to change very soon.
Changing customer gazes
The disposable vaping scandals that have been accumulating since 2021 are now taking hold and influencing customer behaviour; as we can see, more consumers are now inclined to shift to a reusable pod system provided it offers comparable convenience.
Non-disposable goods from formerly disposable-only businesses, for example, have contributed to the growth of pod systems. They’ve established a sense of familiarity in customers, making it easier for them to reject disposables in favour of something more lasting and, eventually, less expensive.
Price and product type are the most crucial elements in generating sales, while brand loyalty is at an all-time low. While all vaping categories are growing this year, e-liquid pods stand out because they provide a price/convenience balance that appears to appeal to the majority of users.
Retailers should keep in mind that disposables are decreasing but pods are increasing, so selling them (along with a wide choice of 10ml nic salt fruit flavours) is a sure bet for profit in 2023.
