The Consumer View Of Tobacco

According to CSNews' 2011 Realities of the Aisle consumer research study, buying cigarettes is the sixth most often cited reason for shopping a convenience store, which is very high considering the total percentage of all consumers who smoke is only 20 percent. The consumer survey also found that among smokers, the mean number of times they purchased cigarettes at a c-store in the past year was 7.1 times, a slight decline from 7.8 times the previous year. However, a whopping 15 percent of smokers shopped for cigarettes at a c-store 15 times or more in the month prior to the survey.

When it comes to competitive sources for cigarettes, consumers most often go to tobacco shops, supermarkets and drug stores when they don't go to the convenience store. However, all three of those channels were shopped less often for cigarettes this year than in the prior year. Meanwhile, the “other” category increased from 18 percent of smokers to 22 percent, suggesting that other outlets like Native American reservations, the Internet or the black market are becoming more popular as consumers seek to avoid the high taxes on products available through traditional sources.