Tag: nielsen

  • Sales Resume Historical Drop as U.S. Reopens

    Sales Resume Historical Drop as U.S. Reopens

    Photo: Africa Studio

    U.S. demand for combustible cigarettes declined 11.3 percent year over year, resuming their historical rate of decline following a temporary increase during 2020, reports The Winston-Salem Journal, citing the most recent Nielsen survey of convenience stores. The report lists total nicotine volumes down 9.4 percent for the same period.

    In the early months of the Covid-19 pandemic, U.S. smokers increased their cigarette purchases in response to stay-at-home orders. This year has seen a return to more typical shopping conditions.

    Philip Morris USA traditional cigarette volumes fell 9.5 percent year over year while Reynolds had an overall 9.2 percent decrease and ITG Brands was down 6.3 percent.

    Tobacco manufacturers have been able to offset much of the recent volume declines through a series of per-pack list price increases in recent months.

    For example, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. will increase the list price of certain brands by $0.14 per pack on July 5, according to a report by Goldman Sachs analyst Bonnie Herzog.

    Meanwhile, sales of electronic cigarettes were down 4.9 percent.

    Sales overall have slumped since February 2020 when the Food and Drug Administration implemented its latest round of heightened regulations on the products.

    Those restrictions required manufacturers of cartridge-based e-cigarettes to stop making, distributing and selling “unauthorized flavorings” by Feb. 6 or risk enforcement actions.

    With a share of 49.5 percent, Juul remains market leader, followed by Vuse (33.5 percent), NJoy (4.5 percent) and Blu eCigs (3.1 percent), according to Nielsen.

  • E-Cig Sales Slumping in Convenience Stores

    E-Cig Sales Slumping in Convenience Stores

    Photo: Juul Labs

    Convenience store e-cigarette sales have slumped over the past 10 months in the United States, according to Nielsen. The segment has been in retreat since the Food and Drug Administration restricted flavors in cartridge-based e-cigarettes on Feb. 6, 2020.

    Overall e-cigarette sales-volume growth has declined steadily since Nielsen’s Aug. 10, 2019, report, when it was up 60.2 percent year over year, according to a story in The Winston-Salem Journal. Nielsen does not track vape shop sales.

    Top-selling Juul’s four-week dollar sales have dropped from a 50.2 percent increase in the Aug. 10, 2019, report to a 15.6 percent decline for the latest report. By comparison, Reynolds’ Vuse was up 87.3 percent in the latest report and NJoy down 31.5 percent.

    Bonnie Herzog

    Juul’s market share dropped from 54.3 percent in the previous report to 53.8 percent. It was at 55.1 percent a year ago. Vuse’s market share slipped from 28.5 percent to 28.1 percent, while No. 3 NJoy was unchanged at 5 percent, and Fontem Ventures’ Blu was unchanged at 3.6 percent.

    Goldman Sachs analyst Bonnie Herzog observed increasing consumer demand for lower-priced traditional cigarettes during the pandemic, which she attributed to downtrading. That trend could be offset somewhat by the scheduled $600 federal stimulus payments to most Americans, which are expected to arrive in many households soon.

  • Cigarettes Selling Better Than Expected

    Cigarettes Selling Better Than Expected

    Photo: Joan Parker from Pixabay

    Cigarette sales continue to perform better than expected despite a slight decline in recent weeks.
     
    The U.S. sales volume for traditional cigarettes was down 2.1 percent for the four-week period that ended Aug. 22, according to the latest Nielsen survey of convenience stores. By comparison, the sales volume was down 0.8 percent in a four-week period in May.
     
    The recent decline in cigarette sales is likely linked to a June list price hike by the leading tobacco manufacturers. Philip Morris USA raised its list price by $0.11 a pack for several brands. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. and ITG Brands raised their prices by a similar amount.
     
    Despite the recent acceleration in the contraction of cigarette volumes, the rate of decline is considerably lower than it was last year.
     

    David Sweanor

    “The Nielsen data continues to show the decline in cigarette sales moderating to a pace that is only about a quarter of the rate of contraction in the second quarter of last year—before the much-enhanced attacks on vaping,” David Sweanor, an adjunct law professor at the University of Ottawa, was quoted as saying by The Winston-Salem Journal.
     
    “This is fascinating as there is very strong evidence that current tobacco control policies are leading directly to higher rates of smoking than would have otherwise been the case.”
     
    Meanwhile, sales of electronic cigarettes declined 17.4 percent for the four-week period. The category has struggled since the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) tightened regulations on Feb. 6.
     
    The FDA regulations have depressed the demand for closed pod cartridges.
     
    Traditional cigarettes had $60.27 billion in sales at convenience stores over the past 52 weeks, representing 80 percent of all U.S. tobacco sales, according to the Nielsen report.
     
    Moist snuff and chewing tobacco were at $7.59 billion and 10 percent while electronic cigarettes were at $3.72 billion and 5 percent and cigars at $3.63 billion and 5 percent.
     
    When the first round of stay-at-home orders were issued by numerous governors in mid-March to slow the spread of the Covid-19 virus, the sales volume of traditional cigarettes rose 1.1 percent for the week that ended March 22.