The pending menthol cigarette and flavored cigar bans are activating a broader shift in c-store priorities with changes way beyond the tobacco section.
The continued decline in cigarette sales and the trend to vape and oral nicotine products are changing the substance of the front end as c-stores prepare for the bans. Meanwhile, the dynamic growth of prepared foods, hot breakfasts, innovative snacks and more appealing coffee programs are creating traffic and loyalty that otherwise might be lost with the pending bans. Growth in c-store food and beverage volume is also a planned result of selections and presentations specifically designed to fit the purchase pace of value-conscious c-store customers.
Ironically, increased variety on the tobacco backbar is also a result of the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) bans and restrictions. The four main segments of 12 years ago: cigarettes, cigars, smokeless and loose leaf, have grown to nine. Vape, snus, oral nicotine pouches and heat-not-burn, are likely to be joined by CBD, hemp and nicotine-free menthol and flavored smokes over the next 12 months.
Choice Is Good For Business
Even with the impact of fewer smokers coming in the door and non-combustibles taking a larger percentage of sales, cigarettes will still drive the lion’s share of backbar sales. Next year there may actually be more kinds of smokes to light up after the bans are enforced.
Cigars will be better, cannabis restrictions are being challenged, hemp is inevitable, and of course, nicotine-free non-tobacco smokes will arrive to keep flavor smokers happy.
What About Lighters?
Almost every c-store features BIC lighters on the counter. BIC has ruled the U.S. lighter market for 50 years, longer than most of us have been old enough to flick.
Competitors have come and gone, still nearly eight of every 10 pocket lighters sold in c-stores are BICs. BIC stays with basic colors, safely generic designs and dependable licensed images. Their continuing success is built on affordable quality, insured safety and economical reliability.
BIC’s pocket lighters have evolved with technology and consumer needs over generations. The brand has 76% of all lighter sales, not because they’re cheaper; there are plenty of cheap imports at half the price. Not because they’re better looking; basic black is BIC’s biggest seller. Not because they’re the most efficient: Djeep and Clipper lighters both offer 3,000 lights. And Clippers are refillable.
What Makes a Lighter More Than a Reusable Match?
For retailers who want to add more customer delight, maybe a more vibrant front counter could benefit from more lighter choices in the face of pending FDA flavor bans. Smaller chains (less than 20 stores) are often at the forefront of innovative new ideas and shopper experience. Smoke shops and head shops already offer a wider array of colorful lighter styles and colors that consistently sell through.
For example, to keep inventory turning, Clipper offers up a continuous stream of esoteric and otherworldly graphics that accent their economical shape, refillable Clipper difference and insured safety promise. Clipper can produce small quantities that sell through in as little as 90 days, and then move customers on to the next design. Something new every quarter also creates a reason for collectors to make regular visits.
Other changes in consumer smoking habits have also impacted the lighter landscape. According to the latest Gallup Poll, 12% of Americans state they smoked marijuana within the past week versus 15% for tobacco cigarettes and far outpacing vape at less than 8% of adults. Marijuana smokers don’t just frequent head shops and clinics. They buy gas, coffee and likely need something for their munchies.
Clipper lighters have always featured a built in tamping stick. Originally designed for a briar pipe, it also works for packing a bowl or a joint, which cannabis users have publicized through helpful home-made YouTube videos.
BIC’s wide and historically successful product range continues to focus on writing instruments and shaving gear as well as lighters. At the same time, Clipper’s history has been almost exclusively directed to gas-flame products, including both flint and jet-flame pocket lighters along with a broad range of butane refill canisters, camping gear, plus home use and hardware utility products.
Afterthoughts
I oversaw the DjEEP lighter business in the U.S. for more than two decades, so I have a personal fondness for the category. BIC has earned their leadership role much like Marlboro cigarettes; through smart retail promotion, loyalty and rebate programs supporting a genuinely good product.
But in today’s shifting c-store environment, it shouldn’t be the only game in town. Choice and value is the c-store strategy of the future, crossing all categories including lighters. All ships rise with the tide.