The convenience sector suffered a loss of £5m in sales during the first week of the disposable vape ban, while illegal disposable vape sales amounted to more than £1m, according to new data.
The latest figures from Talysis, the UK’s specialist convenience insight agency, found that the vape category was worth £23m per week in UK c-stores before the ban on 1 June.
However, last week (week ending 8 June) the value fell to £17.8m.
Despite a significant drop in sales, banned disposable vapes still achieved “noticeable sales” during this first week, the data revealed.
With sales of over £1m, the figure backs up the widely reported flouting of the ban by certain retailers, said Talysis.
Interestingly, the insight agency found the price of banned disposable vapes remained “steady” last week, despite the ban.
While some stores reduced prices to quickly shift stock, it appeared that there were “no major price cuts”.
Scotland suffered the most last week, losing 36% of its sales in the total vaping category.
Northern Ireland and north east England were hit hard, with sales dropping by 31% and 27%, respectively. Followed by all regions experiencing a minimum of 20% sales wiped out.
Whilst Wales and Yorkshire/Humber saw the lowest drop in sales, the latter region saw the highest percentage of disposable vape sales, accounting for 18% of total vape sales.
The lowest percentage of disposable sales in the first week of the ban was in Wales, at just 2%, closely followed by south east England at 4%.
More exclusive insights from Talysis found that 12ml (10+2) kits are leading the way.
Last week, 10+2ml kits saw 24% growth in value, while the 4-in-1 kits grew by just 12%. For every 4-in-1 kit sold, approximately 3.5 of the 10+2ml kits are sold, it found.
“This is such a challenging time for retailers and, for the vast majority who are adhering to the ban, there’s no doubt that there’s at least some short-term pain to suffer within the vaping category alone,” said Ed Roberts, managing director of Talysis.
“Our data presents a tough picture of how the ban is impacting sales and how the alternative options are yet to compensate fully and replace disposable use. Whilst it’s early days, a £5 million loss in the first week alone is a major hole to fill.”
“With so many alternatives available, ranging and finding space can be a challenge. This is where Talysis can help make life easier. Using our convenience data, we are able to see what the market is really doing, and which categories, brands and SKUs are the alternatives that consumers are actually buying. The speed and granularity of our data is unmatched within the sector, allowing retailers to act quickly and with full confidence. We’ll be keeping a close eye on this category going forward and ensuring our customers are best placed to regain that lost revenue.”
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