page_title: Vape shop
section_title: Marketing and events
hierarchical_section_title: Vape shop / Store / Marketing and events
caption_attribution_description: Spotted on Bedford Ave., Williamsburg
context_page_description: A vape shop is a retail outlet specializing in the selling of electronic cigarette products. There are also online vape shops. A vape shop offers a range of e-cigarette products. The majority of vape shops do not sell e-cigarette products that are from "Big Tobacco" companies. In 2013, online search engine searches on vape shops surpassed searches on e-cigarettes. Around a third of all sales of e-cigarette products take place in vape shops. Big Tobacco believes the independent e-cigarette market is a threat to their interests.
  Effective August 8, 2016, under the Food and Drug Administration rules, a vape shop that mixes or prepares e-liquids, or makes or modifies any kind of e-cigarettes, is regulated as a tobacco product manufacturer. The US FDA acknowledged that many vape shops will go out of business, but they also state many will stay open, despite hefty costs. Vape shop owner Joe Baba in the US believes a ban on public vaping might put several vape shops out of business because taste-testing would be prohibited. The revised EU Tobacco Products Directive came into effect May 2016 which regulates the sale and marketing of e-cigarettes.
context_section_description: Many e-cigarette companies have proposed to retailers the idea to convert part of their current location into a mini vape shop. The markup for traditional cigarettes is 10–20%, but e-cigarette dispensers, nicotine cartridges, and accessories are as high 200–400% markup. US vape shops generate around $26,000 in monthly sales. In San Francisco, e-liquids, not the devices, were the main source of income for vape shops. US vape shop owners intend to capitalize on medical marijuana-related sales. In the UK in 2018, there is increased competition among vape shops because more shops have opened.
  "Vape shops intend to make potential customers aware of their existence and curious about visiting a shop and engaging in vaping. They also intend to make the shop accessible to encourage sales of e-cigarette-related products (vaping equipment, e-liquids, and hobby-related items such as t-shirts and magazines). Barker and colleagues interviewed vape shop owners/managers in 37 vape shops and observed availability, price, promotion and placement of vaping products and e-liquids across nine USA cities: Atlanta, Chicago, Henderson, Phoenix, Oklahoma City, San Jose, Seattle, Thousand Oaks, and Ventura. A majority of vape shops primarily use social media outlets (e.g. 100% Facebook, 86% Instagram and Yelp, 65% Twitter, 38% YouTube) and special events open to the community (57%) for marketing. Few stores reported using print or broadcast media, with radio being the most popular venue (19%). About half (51%) of stores had external advertisements, and almost one-third had no signage related to sales to minors," according to a 2017 report.
  Vape shops have used the game Pokémon Go to market their products. "From July to October 2016, several vape shops and online retailers have incorporated Pokémon Go as part of promotions on Twitter, linking game performance with discounts on their products," a 2017 report stated. Vape shops have also set up local events to join Pokémon Go activities with vaping promotional contests.
  In 2015, "Cloud-chasing", the activity of blowing the largest clouds of vapor, were becoming a routine event at local vape shops. Many vape shops organize cloud-chasing events. Cloud-chasing contests appear to be intended to bring in new shoppers and increase e-cigarette business. Vape shops have held music concerts at night.
  Marketing of e-cigarettes by tobacco shops was limited, with most responding that they do not market e-cigarettes, according to a 2018 report. Almost half have used social media, with others relying on word of mouth and price promotions. Vape shops utilized more diverse marketing channels, including radio, print media, and word of mouth. In-store marketing has been increasing, as of 2016. The most common form of marketing by vape shops is social media, which all vape shops cited using for marketing, the 2018 report concluded.
caption: E-cigarette retailer marketing sign in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York, Unites States.
exif: {"Image Make": "Apple", "Image Model": "iPhone 4S", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Microsoft Windows Photo Viewer 6.1.7600.16385", "Image DateTime": "2014:07:01 21:12:22", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "Image ExifOffset": "2316", "GPS GPSLatitudeRef": "N", "GPS GPSLatitude": "[40, 43, 423/100]", "GPS GPSLongitudeRef": "W", "GPS GPSLongitude": "[73, 57, 2833/100]", "GPS GPSAltitudeRef": "0", "GPS GPSAltitude": "28", "GPS GPSTimeStamp": "[22, 17, 2201/100]", "GPS GPSImgDirectionRef": "T", "GPS GPSImgDirection": "222851/702", "Image GPSInfo": "5164", "Image Padding": "[]", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "5462", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "13447", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/368", "EXIF FNumber": "12/5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "50", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2014:06:26 18:17:22", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2014:06:26 18:17:22", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "5685/667", "EXIF ApertureValue": "4845/1918", "EXIF BrightnessValue": "13620/1937", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "107/25", "EXIF SubjectArea": "[1631, 1226, 881, 883]", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "088", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "088", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "2448", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "3264", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "51/23", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "78", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF ImageUniqueID": "079D3C1942D3416AA5C6A52A639C8C4C", "EXIF LensSpecification": "[107/25, 107/25, 12/5, 12/5]", "EXIF LensMake": "Apple", "EXIF LensModel": "iPhone 4S back camera 4.28mm f/2.4", "EXIF Padding": "[]", "EXIF OffsetSchema": "4196"}