What Do Smoke Shops Sell? 6 Items To Stock in Your Shop
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.
There’s a better, data-driven way to ensure you balance customer demand and make a profit. A robust point of sale (POS) system for smoke shops is full of insights to help you manage inventory and keep customers happy.
This article is a quick guide to the items your smoke shop should stock, with a bonus twist: We’ll help you understand how your POS system can optimize inventory management and build a successful business. Let’s dive in.
What Do Smoke Shops Sell? It’s Up to You!
What to stock your smoke shop with is really up to you. The main question to ask yourself is: What do my customers want? Every smoke shop is unique — where your shop is and what the local demographic are both likely to play a pivotal role.
For example, perhaps you’re opening a shop in an area with lots of cigar lounges; you might want to stock up on premium cigars and humidors, as well as accessories like cutters and lighters. Approaching inventory this way also tells you what not to stock.
Related Read: How To Keep Track of Smoke Shop Inventory: 8 Tools & Tips
Alternatively, perhaps you’re near a college or an area full of young professionals. You might lean toward trendy vape gear and glass water pipes. You can branch out into vape mods, disposable vapes, and dab rigs to appeal to your young crowd.
You might need to experiment a little to see what works for your store — this is where a POS system is invaluable. You can pay attention to what’s selling and what isn’t using daily sales reports. Rely on these reports to refine your offerings and make strategic decisions.
Resist the urge to stock your shelves based on what competitors are doing. Using a data-driven approach takes the guesswork out of purchasing. From spotting rising trends to scaling back on declining products, you can optimize your retail space using real numbers.
Related Read: 6 Important POS Features for an All-In-One Smoke Shop
The risks of not managing inventory well are very real. Too much dead inventory collecting dust eats up working capital and will put customers off. Not having hot products in stock will also drive customers elsewhere, causing lost sales and damage to your reputation.
All of that said, what are some of the products you could stock in your store?
6 Most Popular Products You Could Sell
Premium cigars: For the cigar aficionados, stocking premium, top-shelf cigars is a must. Have a wide selection of single cigars across brands like Arturo Fuente, Padron, and Ashton, as well as bundled samplers that allow customers to try multiple options. Also offer an array of cigar vitolas, lengths, ring gauges, and strengths to suit any preference.
Humidors and accessories: Premium cigars require a quality humidor to protect them from dryness and damage — stock gorgeous Spanish cedar desktop humidors alongside more discreet travel humidors for home cigar lounges. Digital hygrometers monitor humidity levels, while humidification gel or beads maintain ideal levels. Cedar trays and dividers organize collections. For proper humidor care, provide solutions and wipes.
Vaping supplies: Offering a variety of advanced vape mods, pens, and POD systems will satisfy both beginners and experts. Stock up on tanks, coils, batteries, chargers, and other hardware. Choose e-liquids with the latest flavor trends, 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.
Lighters and cutters: Reliable lighters and quality cutters are cigar and pipe-smoking essentials. Offer various tabletop soft flame lighters and torch lighters ideal for lighting cigars. Guillotine and V-cutters neatly slice cigar heads, while punch cutters are compact and straightforward. Provide all the cutting and lighting features tobacco lovers need.
Pipes and tobacco: For pipe smokers, an assortment of briar, corncob, and meerschaum tobacco pipes delivers options from affordable to ornate. Pipe maintenance requires cleaners, brushes, and tool kits. There are various pipe tobacco flavors, from mint to cherry blends, 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.
Gift sets: Last but not least, put together gift sets with samplers and pairings that combine top brands. A curated selection of cigars, pipe tobacco pouches, or other bundles make memorable gifts.
While not an exhaustive list, this does cover in-demand products you could stock in your smoke shop.
Using Your POS System To Inform Inventory
As mentioned earlier, your POS system is a goldmine of data. Here’s how to make the most out of it.
Analyze sales velocity: You can quickly identify your fastest-selling items using sales reports. Focus on reordering top performers regularly to avoid stockouts and keep customers happy. Persistent slow-sellers taking up valuable shelf space can go.
Spot trends: Deep diving into data reveals which products are gaining traction with customers. Perhaps a vape accessory is surprising you by selling fast — you can capitalize on the momentum and purchase more. At the same time, you might notice a fading fad and begin phasing out poor-selling items.
Optimize product mix: Are your core offerings aligning with customer demand? Are changes needed? Use your POS system to add new products and test them out. You can then create an ideal ratio of staple products to variety, informed by data instead of guesswork.
Compare vendors: Which vendor products are performing well? Certain vendor products will have a higher turnover. Often, you can use these insights to negotiate terms with suppliers, pushing for better pricing or margins. You can also replace underperforming vendors with something customers prefer.
Related Read: 4 Smoke Promos: Your Guide to Enticing Deals
Manage seasonality: Yes, seasonality does affect tobacco sales. For example, people might smoke less in winter due to adverse weather. They might smoke more in the warm summer months. Perhaps in winter, cigars, and related products fare better, as customers can smoke in cigar lounges. But, instead of guessing, use your year-over-year sales data to prepare for seasonal changes.
Reduce stockouts: It’s essential to review out-of-stock reports to identify high-velocity products you need a deeper inventory of. To avoid frustrating customers, reorder those items before you run out.
Improve pricing: How you price your products is essential. You need to be competitive but fair and still make a profit. Leverage POS data to experiment. For example, you can put a markup on in-demand products and experiment with target markdowns and sales for other products. The key is optimizing turnover and margins.
Answered: What Do Smoke Shops Sell?
Most smoke shops carry various products, including premium cigars, vaping supplies, humidors, specialty tobacco, and related accessories. Ultimately, what you choose to stock will depend on your specific store, target clientele, and inventory insights.
You can optimize your offerings over time by leveraging point of sale data to align with local buying trends and demand. When you use granular sales reporting, inventory management becomes a strategic, metrics-driven process. To maximize profitability, you need accurate analytics to guide your purchasing decisions.
At Cigars POS, we understand the daily challenges of retail inventory like few others. Our tailored POS systems provide smoke shop owners the visibility they need to spot trends, reduce stockouts, and inform smarter buying.
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.
