The U.S. E-Cigarette Device and Aftermarket Analysis & Forecast 2016-2025

Combustible cigarettes continue to propel the tobacco industry with increasing revenue at a global level.  Although, the smoking population has been declining since 2010, the per capita consumption and consequentially the count of cigarettes remain constant, if not increasing. E-cigarettes or Electronic cigarette are electronically operated devices, designed to imitate the look and feel of conventional cigarettes. Developed in 2003, the market started gaining traction commercially in 2012 and the devices since then have transitioned through three generations of product innovation. While e-cigarettes were perceived to challenge the combustible cigarette market, the entry of Big Tobacco converted the competition into alliance.

The report on ‘The U.S. E-cigarette Device and Aftermarket’ is a meticulous compilation of the various facets of the e-cigarette industry. After a thorough analysis of the current trends, the market dynamic chapters include the key push and pull forces prevailing in the U.S. E-cigarette market. The chapter also includes the consumer’s perspective covering aspects such as the e-cigarette usage and motivation to use in the U.S. particularly. Owing to the dependency of the market growth on the legal and regulatory framework, the report at each step has considered the effect of laws (both implemented and anticipated) in terms of regulations and taxation in estimation and forecast of the market size. Moreover, the key consortiums and compliance influencing the e-cigarette market in the country have also been included in the report. 

Big Tobacco companies started competing aggressively acquiring the top e-cigarettes brands and rolled out their own brands with newer and technologically advanced products. Moreover, a few companies also got involved in legal battle over patents, in order to maintain their market positions. Having identified the fluctuating landscape in the U.S. market, the competitive insights chapter lays special emphasis on the key strategies and developments including the prominent acquisitions, product developments, partnership, business expansion, and lawsuits among others. The chapter also includes the market share for top brands including Vuse (Reynolds American), Blu (Imperial Tobacco), and MarkTen (Altria) among others. The products of these brands have been further benchmarked on the basis of factors such as performance, efficiency, global presence, and battery life among others.

The e-cigarette market is anticipated to grow amidst ongoing legal fluctuations and varying vaping preferences. Moreover, the product choices might differ in the future owing to the hefty taxations that are anticipated on both device and e-liquid (the liquid which converts into vapor). Therefore, the U.S. E-cigarette market estimation and forecast has been initiated with an exhaustive set of assumptions, following which are the key trends and market size information for both device and components. The market has been further estimated and forecast based on the prevalent distribution channel, i.e. online and retail and by the source of origin. 

The report involves a mix of 50+ companies chosen on the basis of their market developments, revenue generation and market share in the industry. The companies profiled in the report include Altria, Imperial Tobacco, Japan Tobacco, Durasmoke, Clearette, Mister E-liquid, and NicQuid among others.

The overall percentage of conventional cigarette smokers has hit an all time low on a global scale, stemming either from its escalating cost, or an increased awareness about potential health hazards amongst smokers. In spite of a declining per capita consumption of cigarettes in the U.S., tobacco related mortality is the leading preventable cause of death in the country (according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC). In response to the cause, health organizations and pharmaceutical companies over the years have been relentlessly trying to introduce scientifically proven and efficient smoking cessation products such as nicotine gums and patches.

Electronic cigarettes or e-cigarettes (as a substitute to conventional smoking) are electronic devices wherein an atomizer (burning coil) converts a liquid (with or without nicotine) into vapor. The primary intent of such devices was to imitate conventional cigarettes, evident from the first generation, called ‘cig-a-likes’ or disposable e-cigarettes. The revenue generation through the sales of e-cigarettes started gaining significant traction since 2012 and the market was able to exhibit an unprecedented growth for almost three years, i.e. from 2012-2015. The U.S. accounted for approximately 44% of the total e-cigarette market value as of 2015.

The first two years since the market started gaining traction in 2012, exhibited a dominance of disposable and rechargeable starter kits in the market. However, owing to an increased performance and long term cost effectiveness appeal, VTMs took over the market share of the first and second generation e-cigarette devices since 2015. It is expected that disposable e-cigarettes will only be purchased by first time vapers and the major market share will be held by VTMs since they are perceived to be more beneficial for smoking cessation.

The competitive landscape for the e-cigarette market exhibits an inclination towards companies adopting strategies such as mergers, acquisitions, product launches, and contracts among others. Moreover, the industry is at an incipient stage and has intensified the patent landscape with a series of lawsuits and litigation activities taking place in the industry.

A major proportion of the market is concentrated in the hands of the Big Tobacco, which owns four of the five top brands, thus controlling a dominant portion of the market. BAT’s rechargeable e-cigarette brand, Vuse remained the dominant market leader, closely followed by Imperial Tobacco’s BluCigs, while Logic, Markten and Njoy occupy the next three positions in the industry.