Owning a smoke shop can be a rewarding, profitable journey. Along the way, you’ll have the chance to form lasting connections with your customers, share your tobacco expertise, and enjoy the financial rewards of your hard work.
But on any road trip, you’re bound to run into obstacles.
In this blog, we’ll explore some of the most common smoke shop business challenges — and share how you can use these unexpected forks in the road to take your business to new heights.
1. Preventing Underage Sales
As a smoke shop owner, one of your most important responsibilities is preventing the sale of tobacco products to customers under 21.
Selling tobacco to underage customers isn’t just unethical; it can lead to a laundry list of consequences, including a damaged reputation, the loss of your tobacco license, hefty fines and legal penalties, and even the closure of your shop.
That’s why it’s important to be aware of this smoke shop business challenge and have a proactive plan to prevent it.
The Solution
Fortunately, there’s an easy way to protect your business and community from the threat of underage tobacco sales. All you need is a point of sale (POS) system with built-in age verification.
This tool prompts your cashiers to ask for customers’ IDs, enter their birthdates, and verify their ages during the checkout process. For an even more convenient experience, you can invest in a handheld ID scanner, which eliminates the need for manual data entry and makes age verification quick and easy.
Don’t forget to thoroughly train your staff on the importance of age verification and your store’s policies for preventing underage tobacco sales.
2. Keeping Your Shelves Perfectly Stocked
Inventory management is an essential ingredient for success in any retail industry — but it can be particularly challenging for smoke shop owners.
Your shelves are home to a wide variety and large volume of items, including individual cigars, cartons of cigarettes, vape products, and everything in between.
Without an adequate inventory management strategy, keeping track of all these items can be nearly impossible, and you’ll struggle to strike the balance between understocking and overstocking your shop.
The Solution
The antidote to your smoke shop stock problems is an all-in-one POS system with robust inventory management features. This tool tracks your stock levels in real time, gives you insights into your bestselling and underperforming products, and notifies you before a stockout hits.
Choosing software designed specifically for smoke shops can make it even simpler to keep your shelves well-stocked. Look for an option that includes features like carton-pack inventory tracking, individual cigar label printing, and tobacco scan data functionality.
3. Standing Out From the Competition
With competitors popping up on every corner, one of the biggest smoke shop business challenges is standing out.
To be successful, you need to give your customers a reason to choose your shop rather than the one down the road. And once you’ve brought them through your door, you need to find a way to keep them coming back.
The Solution
Let’s take a look at some of our top tips for attracting and retaining customers:
- Plan enticing promotions like mix and match deals or product bundles.
- Launch a loyalty program that rewards customers for visiting your smoke shop.
- Spruce up your marketing strategy and use email and SMS to stay in touch with your shoppers.
Pro Tip: Your POS system can help you implement all three of these strategies. Look for one that offers flexible promotion options, a built-in customer loyalty program, and marketing integrations.
4. Keeping Up With Industry Trends
New products are constantly emerging onto the tobacco and vape scene — which is why staying on top of trends can be a tricky smoke shop business challenge.
Your customers will expect to find the hottest items on your shop’s shelves, and if you don’t have them, they’ll turn to one of your competitors.
The Solution
There are two essential steps to follow if you want to be the first smoke shop in the neighborhood to carry new and exciting products.
First, you need to keep a close eye on tobacco and vape trends. Subscribe to industry magazines and newsletters, and use your POS system sales reports to identify how your customers’ shopping habits and product preferences change over time.
Next, you need to secure a specialty service called high-risk payment processing. High-risk payment processing lets you sell products that are new to the market or still being regulated, like CBD, delta-8, and kratom hassle-free.
With the help of a high-risk payment processing provider, you can be the go-to smoke shop for the newest, most unique selection.
Conquer Smoke Shop Business Challenges With Cigars POS
There are only two things you need to handle any smoke shop business challenge that comes your way: a plan and a powerful POS system.
We’ve got you covered for both.
Cigars POS is a POS solution designed specifically for smoke shops just like yours. Our software includes built-in age verification, robust inventory management features, marketing integrations, and a high-risk payment processing option — all of which can help you run an efficient, profitable business. Plus, you’ll have access to our team of experts 24/7.
Start your Cigars POS journey by scheduling your personalized demo today.
