2017 Cigar Sales Trending Up

What follows below is the latest result of an IPCPR survey of cigar retailers in the US with respect to 2017 Cigar Sales in the US

December 15, 2017 – Per last week’s IPCPR survey of US Retailer members, holiday sales at the country’s premium tobacco shops got off on the right foot compared to the same time period in 2016. The survey consisted of three simple questions about in-store sales between Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November 23, and Sunday, November 26.

2017 Cigar Sales – Per IPCPR

Sixty-eight (68) Domestic (US) Retailer members responded to the survey, including owners of several multi-store operations who submitted cumulative answers for their entire groups of stores. As depicted in the chart,:

56% of the respondents reported improved sales volumes
18% reported sales drop-offs
26% reported sales were about the same in comparison to the same time period in 2016.

The other two questions in the brief survey pertained to customer store traffic and average purchase per customer during these time periods in 2017 versus 2016. The responses indicate that the typical tobacconist did not see much increase in customer count, but that the average customer spent more than in 2016.

Here are the three survey questions and the responses – in percentage and count (parentheses):

Was your premium tobacco store(s)’ total sales volume over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend up, down or relatively flat compared to the same period in 2016?

Up 56% (38) Down 18% (12) About the Same 26% (18)

Was your premium tobacco store(s)’ store traffic over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend up, down or relatively flat compared to the same period in 2016?

Up 43% (29) Down 19% (13) About the Same 38% (26)

Was your premium tobacco store(s)’ average spend per customer over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend up, down or relatively flat compared to the same period in 2016?