Are Brick And Mortar Vape Stores Profitable?

I have seen a lot of brick and mortar vape stores pop up around town and I am just curious as to whether these are even profitable at this point. I am aware that the trend is on the rise and that if it is open they are probably making money, but something about the products tell me that online orders and all of that will kill their business. Am I wrong?

 

In my opinion I think that its extremely situational, im guessing that most of these stores dont have huge margins on things like mods, tanks, RDA's, etc., but I think that their highest margins come with the juice that they sell, especially their in house blends. So im guessing as these brick and mortar stores gain a decent sized customer base they should have no issue being profitable, as people are constantly buying juice.

 

Yes, yes and yes. My dad's girlfriend worked at a smoke shop, the owner now has a similar smoke shop but is very well known for having a ton of vape tools, juices, books, cases, pens, etc. They still have smokers, but if the guy is thinking about quitting, what happens? Boom, they lose a customer. So what they do is actually promote the e-cigs to smokers that don't seem too happy with what they're doing, offer them sweet discounts for being a regular and sometimes don't even turn a profit on the pens because they're bound to want to try flavors later. Pretty sick business model, always thought that guy was a genius

 

I was actually wondering this myself.
A lot of these stores have popped up in my area.
BUT none of them seem to last, they open and then in a few months they close, move or change names.
I just buy everything online, or when I started I went into a the same corner store I used to buy my cigarettes from because they all sell supplies too.
Well I went into vape store ONCE. The dude at the counter was a real jerk, every question I asked he had this condescending tone like it was a burden to explain anything to me (I was very green at the time.) I didn't buy anything and on my way out he mutters to himself "another person wasting my bleeping time."
Yea so I have not gone back into one since.

 

Where I live we've also seen a rise in these types of stores but from what I've seen, there's only one or two that have been able to make it work.

While I'm not saying you can't make money, what I am saying is that it's not just going to be a case of selling a few liquids from your shop. Your going to have to have internet sales aswell as physical ones to be able to make a success of a business such as this.

 

I can't positively say yes, but I assume so. Within a ten mile radius of my house, three vape stores popped up; however, they popped up around the time I moved here five years ago, so I would say they are doing pretty well. I agree that online stores will probably out-sell the brick and mortar shops, but I think there is something to be said for walking into a store and asking the staff for information, especially when you're just starting out. Plus there is always that, "Oh no! I didn't know I was so low on juice," moment that everyone is bound to have at some point or another, and the online stores can't compete with that immediate service.

 

Yes, I agree with you when you say that online stores must outsell them, as they have more variety and are an overall more diverse store. But I think regular stores are profitable because of the overall experience they offer. What I mean by this is that when you enter a vaping store you're greeted, if you have doubts you can ask the clerk, you also can get opinions from other customers, you can touch and feel everything before buying...

Where I'm from there are not many physical stores but I've been to some in other countries and if I could I would stick to them,, but I'm stuck with online stores :/

That''s why I think they're still ahead of online stores. It's a more intimate experience.

 

I think they can make money yes, for sure, because there is a lot of demand. I've seen a few of those specialized vaping stores and I feel that they can make it only with vaping products, but at the same time if they are able to make a more wide offer of products they can establish a more safer base of income.

 

While the demand is growing, so is the amount of places that are cashing in on the vaping phenomenon that's taking place at the moment, but they can't all make money.

At the moment in my opinion the market is becoming over saturated and before too long, some of these places won't be able to make it viable to stay open.

 

Huge fan of buying online. The Amazon website is like a second home to me. Likewise, I buy my vaping supplies online. Eventually I believe that automated delivery services and online stores will put most traditional outlets out of business. Plus, like a previous poster mentioned, in my area too vaping shops have come and gone so quick that they are here one month and gone the next. The couple that have lasted are smoke shops that have been in the same location for YEARS! They already had a customer base who smoked tobacco and added vaping as a sideline business which has grown larger over time.

 

Yeah, while I prefer online, only half the world is on the Internet anyways. There's still tons of brick & mortar opportunities when you realize how many more people there are that have not been exposed to the concept or opportunity yet

 

I am glad to hear that a lot of people are still taking advantage of the brick and mortar stores, but as I suspected they are probably in a little danger when you consider the popularity and convenience of online shopping. I am glad that they are around, and I have utilized some local ones here, but I am still surprised at how many there are now and cannot help but think that a couple of them might be in for some bad news.

 

True. The over-saturation is crazy. I think a few really quality stores will stand the test of time, but the mall kiosk-popups are going to have a rough time of it.

 

A couple of guys I graduated high school with opened up a vape shop here in our town about a year ago. Everyone thought it would be a big hit because it was the only one in this county. However, they charged outrageous prices for everything they sold. I think many people found it cheaper to buy e-cigs that are sold in convenience stores with disposable cartridges or even to keep smoking than to buy from the vape shop. For instance, they sold tiny vials of nicotine juice for like $8 a pop and some people I know who tried it said it didn't last over a couple days. From what I heard they also preferred for customers to buy the juice they mixed in the shop instead of the pre-mixed vials and these were even more expensive. My son even said the owner even got rude and insulting with him when he did not want to purchase the juice that was mixed in the shop. Just seemed like bad business management all around to me. Needless to say, the place closed only about 6 months after opening.

 

As in any market though, you get the good and the bad, and it sounds like in this case it was one of the bad ones. The trouble with that store you mention, is that it had a monopoly and so thought they could charge what they wanted and people would just automatically pay it.

 

Yeah, this is the WORST. The problem with stores that gouge prices is that they're focusing on short term profit instead of long-term affordability, meaning they will always have tapering sales in the long term. It's such a terrible business decisions and people have been writing about it for thousands of years...yet they keep doing it. Noobs aren't new!

 

It depends, would you consider a tobacconist with a vape section a brick and mortar vape store? They are certainly profitable. Standalone vape stores are usually in a very small premises where rent is less. Even online stores have to pay for a warehouse etc, so the difference is not as big as you might imagine.

 

A lot of the vape stores around my area are also tobacconists also and they're cashing in on the new craze of vaping. In a way it does make sense as a lot of their customers who are trying to quit smoking, will now carry on being customers as they get introduced to vaping as a way to quit.

 

Thanks for sharing OkieDokeySmokey. I am starting to think that there are a lot more stories out there that are like that one, where the expectations were high and people were excited and then it just did not seem to work out. Six months is not a long time though, so hopefully places are holding on at least a little longer than that.

 

Your right that 6 months isn't a long time, and I'd like to think that if and when these places are run properly and to their potential then they'll be around for a lot longer.

There's money to be made in vaping for stores like these, and at the end of the day they need to take the business seriously and not just be in it to make a quick profit.