Convenience stores lost "over £5 million of sales" within the vaping category in a week after the ban came into effect while over £1 million worth of illegal vape sales were still taking place, shows a recent report.
Convenience Data UK (CD:UK), powered by Talysis, is based on EPoS data from thousands of independent and symbol convenience stores, the length and breadth of the UK.
The latest figures, for the week ending June 8, 2025, cover the first week of the ban in its entirety.
Before the ban, the vapes category (disposables, kits, pods, etc.) was worth approximately £23 million per week in UK convenience stores. Last week ending June 8, sales totaled just £17.8 million, a drop of over £5 million.
Despite a significant drop, disposable vapes still achieved noticeable sales during this first week, which included no legal selling days.
Accounting for sales of over £1 million, this backs up the widely reported flouting of the ban by certain retailers. Surprisingly, the price of disposable vapes also remained steady last week.
While some stores have reduced prices to quickly shift stock before June 1, it appears that, on average, there have been no major price cuts.
The regional picture sheds even more light on the impact, with Scotland suffering most, losing 36 per cent of sales in the total vaping category in the week since the ban, versus the average weekly sales prior to the ban.
Northern Ireland (-31 per cent) and north east England (-27 per cent) have also been hit hard, whilst all regions have seen a minimum of 20 per cent of sales wiped out.
Whilst Wales and Yorkshire/Humber have seen the lowest drop in sales, at -20 per cent, the latter region is seeing the highest percentage of disposable vape sales, accounting for 18 per cent of total vape sales.
With that in mind, it’s perhaps surprising to see that the lowest percentage of disposable sales was in Wales, at just 2 per cent, closely followed by south east England at 4 per cent.
As the convenience sector reels from the loss of sales in disposable vaping, the alternatives have yet to make up the shortfall in a significant way.
Two weeks ago, CD:UK data showed that "big puff" and "small puff" sales were broadly similar.
As expected, this gap has now widened, with more consumers choosing the small puff 2ml kits. Unit sales of small puff kits are now around double those of big puff kits (4-in-1 and 10+2ml combined). However, last week (week ending 8 June), value sales of 10+2ml were +24 per cent, whereas the small puff 2ml kits were +11 per cent.
Meanwhile, after a slow start, sales of pods (which fit the new reusable kits) continue to rise, with value sales up by 21 per cent last week, although the number of kits sold is still easily outpacing pods. As consumers begin to re-use their new kits, it’s likely that this will change.
Smoking alternatives (mainly oral nicotine) have seen notable growth over the past year. However, this appears to have levelled out in recent weeks. During the first ‘ban week’, week ending 8 June, sales grew by 5 per cent in value. In the weeks prior, sales were slightly down, at -0.1per cent and -3.74 per cent.
With the introduction of the ban, there are now even more options for consumers, especially in the "big puff" space. But which type is selling fastest? Exclusive insights from Talysis show that the 12ml (10+2) kits are leading the way.
Last week, the 10+2ml kits saw 24 per cent growth in value, while the 4-in-1 kits grew by just 12 per cent. In fact, for every 4-in-1 kit sold, approximately 3.5 of the 10+2ml kits are sold.
Ed Roberts, MD of Talysis Ltd, comments, “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.
"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.”
