Global USB Rechargeable E-Cigarette & Vaporizer Device Market

The e-cigarette industry gathered pace from 2012 onwards, when tobacco giant Lorillard acquired the U.S. based e-cigarette company, ‘Blu Ecigs‘. However, the rapidly changing dynamics of the market can be understood with the exit of the parent company of the best selling e-cigarette brand (Blu) from the market and its competitor Imperial Tobacco climbing up the ladder of this fledgling market. The Big Tobacco have started competing aggressively acquiring the top e-cigarettes brands and simultaneously rolling out their own brands with newer and technologically advanced products. Moreover, an overall non-uniformity of taxation and regulation policies has enabled a large number of players to enter the market, significantly intensifying the competitive rivalry.

This report is a meticulous compilation of the different aspects of the USB rechargeable and currently the dominating e-cigarette type in the industry, including the market share analysis and product benchmarking for top brands, Porter‘s five forces analysis, the consumer‘s perspective for buying e-cigarettes, market breakdown by product types, distribution channel, and key geographical locations.

While highlighting the key driving and restraining forces for this dynamic market the report also provides a comprehensive section of the prominent consortiums, compliance, and regulatory bodies and their involvement in the e-cigarette industry.

The report has laid down special emphasis on the legal and regulatory framework, owing to the changing paradigms in the industry. Where, on one hand, the state and local governments have started levying hefty taxes on e-cigarettes and e-liquids following the likes of conventional tobacco, on the other there are several consortiums identified who are opposing the proposals and wish to back e-cigarette by scientific studies.

The industry analysis has been included analyzing the impact of the five major forces to understand the overall attractiveness of the industry. The company profile section has been broken down into the publically traded companies and private companies. While the global companies have been chosen on the basis of their market developments and revenue generation, best-selling brands/companies have also been profiled in the report.

The market will witness a staggering growth until 2020, by when most of the regulatory and policy framework will fall into place. The growth rate will significantly increase thereafter, with increasing revenue generation from evolving markets of APAC and some European countries. Moreover, while disposable e-cigarettes dominated the global e-cigarette product market till 2014, USB rechargeable e-cigarettes, followed by personal vaporizers and Mods have taken over the top market positions in terms of revenue generation. The U.S. market will continue with its dominance through the forecast period, however, China is expected to grow at the fastest CAGR to become the second largest revenue generating country by the end of 2025.

The global issue of tobacco consumption has become more critical, irrespective of the known and proven detrimental health affects its poses and the increasing taxes being levied on the same. Identifying the importance of finding alternatives to tobacco, the first e-cigarette was designed in China, back in 2003. The market has evolved through three generations and is standing at the point of influx, wherein a plethora of companies are entering, thanks to the low entry barriers such as government policy and capital requirements. The global e-cigarette market is poised to grow over $16 billion by 2025, at a double digit CAGR from 2016 to 2025.

The market has been largely driven by a flurry of activities including Mergers and Acquisitions, Patent Warfare, and the introduction of smart (microcontroller operated) products among others. Moreover, the emergence of Vape shops and it‘s increasing count is increasingly attracting more users through their wide variety of products and better assistance while shopping for the desired products. However, the state and local governments have initiated levying hefty taxes on e-cigarettes and this is emerging as a key challenge for the market. Also, the unregulated manufacturing process in China and the consequent rise in numbers of adverse (explosion and poisoning incidents) are other restraining factors for the e-cigarette market.

In spite of the proposals and anticipated implementation of stringent regulations and policies governing the e-cigarette market, the revenue from the key geographical regions will continue to rise at a double digit CAGR through the forecast period. While North America, with U.S. leading the way will dominate the market throughout the forecast period, APAC will be growing at the fastest CAGR through the forecast period. Significant revenue flow will be observed in China and India.

Tobacco consortiums, recently established vaping associations and regulatory bodies which have a significant role to play in the global e-cigarette industry since, the future growth of the market largely depends on the regulatory framework. The proposal of the Tobacco Product Directive (TPD) by the European Union (EU) is by far the most controversial directive and will come into effect by May 2016. Following the proposal, the companies will have to bring about drastic changes in their marketing and distribution strategies, which might affect the market growth through the forecast period. Moreover, 3 states in the U.S. states viz. Minnesota, North Carolina, and Washington have already imposed taxes on e-cigarettes and accessories, and a similar paradigm is expected to be followed through the forecast years.

The prevalent distribution channels for USB rechargeable e-cigarettes and vaporizers are online and retail. The market players either operate through their own brands or sell their products through online supermarkets and e-commerce websites. The retail channel is comprised of convenience stores, vape shops, pharmacies, and tobacco shops among others. Even after the regulatory framework takes shape, the retail outlets will continue to generate increasing revenue for the market. However, the ease of procuring and choosing such devices from the wide variety that online resellers offer will enable the distribution channel to grow at a CAGR of 21.95% through the forecast period.

The market continues to remain fragmented with different market leaders based out of different countries. The market is yet to bring out the global leaders and in this scenario Big Tobacco acquired or owned brands continue to be the leading revenue generating names in the market. Few players profiled in the company are Altria, Britidh American Tobacco, Japan Tobacco International, Logic Technology, Gamucci, CloudCig, and NJOY among others.