Running a smoke shop is no easy feat.
To run a profitable smoke shop, you’ve got to make sure you have the most in-demand products in stock, while avoiding getting stuck with slow-moving inventory taking up too much space. Inventory isn’t as easy as stocking everything you can think of and hoping for the best.
Instead, you should take a data-driven approach to ensure you balance customer demand and make a profit.
In this article, we’ll give you an overview of the most popular product categories to stock and give you insights on how you can use your smoke shop point of sale (POS) system to optimize your inventory and build a successful business.
Let’s dive in.
What to stock your smoke shop with is really up to you. The most important question to ask yourself is: What do my customers want?
Every smoke shop is unique — where your shop is and what the local demographics are will both play a pivotal role in what you sell.
For example, if your shop is in an area catering to an older generation or middle-aged customers, you might want to stock up on premium cigars and humidors.
Conversely, if you’re near a college campus, you might lean toward trendy vape gear and glass water pipes to appeal to a younger crowd.
Related Read: How To Keep Track of Smoke Shop Inventory: 8 Tools & Tips
There’s no one right answer, and you might need to experiment a little to see what works for your store — but resist the urge to copy your competitors. If you’re not careful, you may find yourself in a never-ending battle to undercut their pricing — and your profits.
This is where combining your intuition with data-driven insights will come in handy. As your business grows, use the reports and analytics on your POS system to identify:
…and more!
This will give you an honest view of the types of products your customers gravitate toward, along with items that might be falling in popularity.
When coming up with what to stock at your smoke shop, it’s important to balance your niche interests with providing variety to reach the widest customer base possible. Go too niche and you may limit your appeal. Go too broad and you risk coming across as nothing special.
If you’re in the process of refining your tobacco product list, here are some suggestions to get you started.
Almost any smoke shop will sell cigarettes. Ensure you stock major brands that your customers will expect. Take careful note if someone asks for a brand you don’t have, and consider stocking it if the name keeps popping up.
Remember, 80% of smokers smoke only one brand. So, if you don’t have your customers’ favorite pack, they’re likely to go somewhere else.
However, it’s worth noting that convenience stores, corner shops, and other general retailers account for over 80% of cigarette sales. So while it’s important to stock staples (especially your regular customers’ favorite brands), don’t expect to find financial success via cigarettes alone.
For the cigar aficionados, stocking premium, top-shelf cigars is a must. Have a wide selection of single cigars across brands like Arturo Fuente, Padrón, and Ashton. Also, offer an array of cigar vitolas, lengths, ring gauges, and strengths to suit any preference.
Many people shy away from premium, hand-rolled cigars because they aren’t sure where to start. Use signage to help educate your customers, or use your POS system to create sampler bundles so they can try different brands for themselves.
Cigars require careful climate control to keep them protected from the elements. So, if you stock high-quality cigars, you should also invest in humidor display cases to give your shop a classier atmosphere and keep cigars at their best.
If cigar sales pick up, you might also sell desktop humidors, travel humidors, humidification gels, digital hydrometers, and other accessories for the home cigar enthusiast. Or, you could consider opening a cigar lounge to let people enjoy them in-store.
Vapes and other smokeless tobacco products are increasingly popular with both younger generations and cigarette smokers looking for smokeless alternatives.
Offer a variety of disposable and reusable vapes and vaping accessories, including vape mods, pens, and POD systems to satisfy both beginners and enthusiasts. Stock up on tanks, coils, batteries, chargers, and other hardware.
Follow vape industry trends to choose popular e-liquid flavors, nicotine concentrations, and reputable brands that customers want. There are also DIY e-juice mixing kits you can use for a vape customer loyalty program, with a little creativity.
Make your smoke shop a one-stop shop by offering a selection of smoking accessories and fun merch. Sell staples like disposable and reusable lighters, ashtrays, and air fresheners.
Depending on your store’s niche, you can offer more specialized items, such as reliable lighters and high-quality cutters for cigar and pipe smokers. Offer various tabletop soft flame lighters and torch lighters ideal for lighting cigars and pipes in style.
For cigar lovers, guillotine and V-cutters neatly slice cigar heads, while punch cutters are compact and straightforward.
If you have a strong visual brand, consider selling merch like clothing, mugs, and other items with your logo.
While use of cigarettes has generally fallen in the United States, more niche areas like pipe tobacco stay steady or grow.
Because it’s so niche, pipe tobacco isn’t as widely available in other stores as staples like cigarettes or vapes, giving smoke shop owners opportunities to specialize and corner the local market.
For pipe smokers, an assortment of briar, corncob, and meerschaum tobacco pipes delivers options from affordable to ornate. You can also sell pipe maintenance tools, such as cleaners, brushes, and tool kits.
You can also sell high-quality loose tobacco or varieties of flavored tobacco in small tins or pouches. A full pipe smoking setup also includes filters, papers, and tampers.
Note: It’s illegal to sell flavored tobacco in some states. See if your state or jurisdiction is affected here.
Smoke shops aren’t just for tobacco anymore. An increasing number of customers now go to smoke shops seeking alternative supplements for stress relief and more.
Derived from hemp, CBD is a very popular substance for controlling anxiety, relieving sore muscles, and more. Delta-8 CBD is also popular since it contains the same psychoactive compounds as THC, but is legal in many states where marijuana isn’t.
Another popular product for pain relief and increased energy is kratom, which is derived from a plant in Southeast Asia.
As attitudes towards both tobacco and smokeless tobacco stay in flux, alternatives like CBD and Kratom provide alternate avenues to expand your customer base. However, it’s important to know the regulations around both products in your area to keep your store in compliance.
Related Read: How To Open a CBD Store in 8 Steps
As mentioned earlier, your POS system contains a goldmine of data. Here’s how to make the most out of it.
The good news is that modern inventory management systems make these features user-friendly, allowing you to easily streamline inventory processes and spend more time with customers.
Creating the perfect smoke shop product list can take time, but by combining your passions with an open mind and a data-driven approach, you’ll smoke the competition in no time.
The right technology can help. At Cigars POS, we have a deep understanding of the daily challenges that smoke shop owners face. Our tailored POS system provides smoke shops with the industry-specific tools and extra visibility they need to spot trends, reduce stockouts, and make smarter buying decisions.
Are you ready to see your next POS system in action? Schedule a demo of our system built specifically for cigar shops, smoke shops, and tobacco stores today.