HOW TO AVOID BEING A VAPRIL FOOL

WHAT IS VAPRIL?

WHEN it comes to a time for retailers to focus on increasing their vape sales, three months stand out.

At the start of every year, new year’s resolutions mean plenty of people turn to vapes to try and help wean themselves off cigarettes.

Furthermore, the NHSbacked Stoptober campaign has been going for 12 years, and vapes have become a more relevant part of it as their popularity has grown.

The third chance for retailers to push the next-gen category comes in the form of VApril, the annual campaign from the UK Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA).

Having run the campaign since 2017, the trade body describes it as “the world’s largest vaping awareness and education campaign”.

“As more adult smokers make the switch to vaping, retailers should take advantage of the opportunity VApril presents to increase sales,” says Chris Aikens, external affairs manager at Relx International.

“The month-long campaign gives retailers the opportunity to capitalise on an influx of adult consumers looking to switch from combustible cigarettes to vaping.”

How To Get Involved

BY now, nearly every convenience retailer has a vaping range of some description, especially now that disposables have made the category more accessible to curious smokers.

The category is worth £1.2bn in the UK, with 35% of vape sales taking place in the convenience channel. Con- versely, there are about 6.6 million smokers in the UK, according to the Office of National Statistics, the lowest number since records began.

These smokers are likely to be more committed, so signing up to VApril gives retailers the means to convince them to make the switch.

“By signing up to the event, retailers will have access to the VApril 2023 Dropbox, which will provide all the resources they will need to really make the most out of VApril activities throughout the month,” says John Dunne, director general of the UKVIA.

“They may wish to organ-

Avtar Sidhu, of St John’s Budgens in Kenilworth, Warwickshire, believes the campaign is more important than ever, as the effects of the cost-of-living crisis compound people’s misgivings about their smoking habits. “This year, we’ll probably hit it harder than ever, especially with the price of cigarettes having gone up a lot,” he says. “Alternatives have never looked so attractive.” ise in-store masterclasses or special ‘clinics’ for those customers looking to transition from smoking to vaping for the first time.”

The month should be used as a chance to stoke people’s curiosity, adds Hannah Rubery, content writer at Pod Salt. “The average smoker isn’t likely to know what VApril means,” she says. “ ating a campaign that gets customers asking the question ‘what is VApril?’ is a good way to start.

“Think along the lines of creating a promotion for a discount on starter kits or bundles by quoting ‘VApril’.”