Table of contents
- At a glance
- Vape shop statistics and the retail landscape
- Licensing and enforcement data
- What inspections found inside vape shops
- Store density and market structure
- Openings, closures, and turnover
- Pricing and promotions
- Health claims and in-store messaging
- Customer visitation patterns
- What the numbers say about vape shops
At a glance
Vape shop statistics show a retail category that is large, unevenly regulated, and constantly changing.
In the supplied dataset, the biggest patterns are easy to spot: the U.S. has at least 380,000 tobacco retailers (STATE System Licensure Fact Sheet), licensing rules vary sharply by state, and vape shops appear in studies as everything from standalone specialty stores to mixed manufacturers and retailers.
Big number: FDA had completed more than 1.2 million tobacco retailer inspections since the start of its compliance check program in 2010, and it had inspected over 550 vape shops during the cited period (An Epidemic Continues: Youth Vaping in America).
A few other headline figures frame the category:
- 59 vape shops were inspected in the FDA field note study (Notes from the Field: Inspection of 59 “Vape Shops” — United States, October–November, 2016).
- In a six-MSA mapping study, researchers identified 459 vape shops and 10,777 convenience stores for comparison (Vape shop identification, density and place characteristics in six metropolitan areas across the US).
- In one follow-up study, 11.5% of 739 stores closed within 16 months, while 29.8% of the later 919 stores had newly opened by follow-up (Turning over a new leaf: Vape shop closings, openings and transitions in six U.S. Metropolitan statistical areas).
- In a pricing study, e-cigarette price promotions fell from 83.2% of shops in 2018 to 20.2% in 2021 (Changes in the Point-of-Sale Among Vape Shops in Six U.S. Metropolitan Areas Over Time, 2018–2021).
Vape shop statistics and the retail landscape
Vape shops are not a single uniform business model. The inspected shops in the FDA field note study included retailers, hybrid stores, and manufacturers, which makes the category more complex than a simple “store selling e-cigarettes” label would suggest.
The inspection sample found:
- 31 of 59 shops were retailers that only sold finished products (Notes from the Field: Inspection of 59 “Vape Shops” — United States, October–November, 2016).
- 27 of 59 shops were both manufacturers and retailers (Notes from the Field: Inspection of 59 “Vape Shops” — United States, October–November, 2016).
- 1 establishment was a manufacturer that did not sell to consumers (Notes from the Field: Inspection of 59 “Vape Shops” — United States, October–November, 2016).
- 28 of the inspected shops were manufacturers (Notes from the Field: Inspection of 59 “Vape Shops” — United States, October–November, 2016).
That mix matters because it means the retail floor is also a production site in many cases. The category can include finished-product sellers, custom producers, and locations that do both at once.
Fast facts from the inspection sample
- 14 of the 28 manufacturers were small businesses employing approximately 3 people each (Notes from the Field: Inspection of 59 “Vape Shops” — United States, October–November, 2016).
- The other 14 manufacturers reported having a parent corporation, subsidiary, or affiliate company (Notes from the Field: Inspection of 59 “Vape Shops” — United States, October–November, 2016).
- 25 of the 28 manufacturers labeled nicotine concentration on products for sale (Notes from the Field: Inspection of 59 “Vape Shops” — United States, October–November, 2016).
- The labeled nicotine concentrations ranged from 0 to 100 mg/mL (Notes from the Field: Inspection of 59 “Vape Shops” — United States, October–November, 2016).
- Only 1 manufacturer reported testing finished products to verify nicotine concentration (Notes from the Field: Inspection of 59 “Vape Shops” — United States, October–November, 2016).
The same inspection also found a gap between labeling and process controls:
- 6 establishments requested testing records from branded tobacco-product manufacturers (Notes from the Field: Inspection of 59 “Vape Shops” — United States, October–November, 2016).
- 0 of the 28 manufacturers had quality assurance programs (Notes from the Field: Inspection of 59 “Vape Shops” — United States, October–November, 2016).
- 0 of the 28 manufacturers had standard operating procedures (Notes from the Field: Inspection of 59 “Vape Shops” — United States, October–November, 2016).
- 0 of the 28 manufacturers had standardized job training for house-brand tobacco products (Notes from the Field: Inspection of 59 “Vape Shops” — United States, October–November, 2016).
Those figures do not describe every vape shop in every market, but they do show why the retail category is often treated as both a consumer-facing channel and a product-development environment.
Licensing and enforcement data
Licensing is one of the clearest ways to compare how states regulate the retail side of vape shops and other tobacco outlets.
STATE System Licensure Fact Sheet data in the dataset show both broad coverage and major variation:
- CDC’s STATE System estimates at least 380,000 tobacco retailers in the United States (STATE System Licensure Fact Sheet).
- As of September 30, 2024, 5 states plus American Samoa, Guam, and Puerto Rico required retailers to have a license to sell cigarettes and other non-cigarette tobacco products (STATE System Licensure Fact Sheet).
- As of September 30, 2024, 36 states plus the District of Columbia, the Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, and the US Virgin Islands required a license to sell either conventional tobacco products or e-cigarettes over the counter (STATE System Licensure Fact Sheet).
License enforcement at a glance
| Policy measure | Count from the dataset | Source label |
|---|---|---|
| States plus territories requiring a license to sell cigarettes and other non-cigarette tobacco products | 5 states plus American Samoa, Guam, and Puerto Rico | STATE System Licensure Fact Sheet |
| States plus territories requiring a license to sell either conventional tobacco products or e-cigarettes over the counter | 36 states plus DC, the Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, and the US Virgin Islands | STATE System Licensure Fact Sheet |
| States plus territories allowing suspension or revocation for tobacco retailer licensing violations | 32 states plus American Samoa, DC, the Northern Mariana Islands, and Puerto Rico | STATE System Licensure Fact Sheet |
| States plus territories allowing suspension or revocation for e-cigarette retailer licensing violations | 29 states plus DC and the Northern Mariana Islands | STATE System Licensure Fact Sheet |
| States plus territories allowing suspension or revocation for sales to youth | 18 states plus American Samoa, DC, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the US Virgin Islands | STATE System Licensure Fact Sheet |
A few additional enforcement details sharpen the picture:
- 2 states suspend licenses for tobacco retailer licensing violations (STATE System Licensure Fact Sheet).
- 2 states suspend licenses for e-cigarette licensing violations (STATE System Licensure Fact Sheet).
- 8 states plus Puerto Rico suspend licenses for sales of conventional tobacco products or e-cigarettes to youth (STATE System Licensure Fact Sheet).
- 5 states revoke licenses for tobacco retailer licensing violations (STATE System Licensure Fact Sheet).
- 2 states revoke licenses for e-cigarette licensing violations (STATE System Licensure Fact Sheet).
- Palau revokes licenses for tobacco or e-cigarette sales violations (STATE System Licensure Fact Sheet).
The broader retail compliance backdrop is just as important. FDA had completed more than 1.2 million tobacco retailer inspections since 2010, issued over 98,000 warning letters, filed over 25,000 civil money penalty complaints, and filed 220 no-tobacco-sale order complaints (An Epidemic Continues: Youth Vaping in America).
That is a large enforcement environment for any retail category, and vape shops are part of it.
What inspections found inside vape shops
Inspection and observational studies in the dataset show that vape shops often function as highly visible retail spaces with a lot going on at once.
The California health-claims study sampled 54 vape shops and completed 46 assessments (Health claims made in vape shops: an observational study and content analysis).
Key in-store findings included:
- 89.1% of shops were in strip malls (Health claims made in vape shops: an observational study and content analysis).
- 54.3% were part of retail chains with more than 2 locations (Health claims made in vape shops: an observational study and content analysis).
- Age-of-sale signage appeared in 41.3% of shops (Health claims made in vape shops: an observational study and content analysis).
- Age-of-entry signage appeared in 30.4% of shops (Health claims made in vape shops: an observational study and content analysis).
- 89.1% of shops offered free e-liquid sampling (Health claims made in vape shops: an observational study and content analysis).
- 50% of shops had people actively vaping indoors (Health claims made in vape shops: an observational study and content analysis).
Why these in-store percentages matter
The numbers suggest that vape shops are not just passive outlets. They are retail spaces with sampling, indoor behavior, posted claims, and mixed compliance signals all visible at once.
The photo analysis in that same study adds a useful layer:
- 14,574 photos were taken (Health claims made in vape shops: an observational study and content analysis).
- 456 photos contained a potential claim (Health claims made in vape shops: an observational study and content analysis).
- 104 photos were coded as containing health claims (Health claims made in vape shops: an observational study and content analysis).
- Those 104 photos represented 22.8% of the photos with potential claims (Health claims made in vape shops: an observational study and content analysis).
- The 104 photos contained 135 health claims (Health claims made in vape shops: an observational study and content analysis).
- Those 135 claims represented 47 unique claims (Health claims made in vape shops: an observational study and content analysis).
- 41.3% of retailers displayed at least one health claim (Health claims made in vape shops: an observational study and content analysis).
The same study also shows a split between retail-chain and independent shops:
- Retail-chain shops displayed 32% of the at-least-one-claim shops, while independent shops displayed 52.4% (Health claims made in vape shops: an observational study and content analysis).
- Retail-chain shops accounted for 88.9% of all claims, compared with 11.1% in independent shops (Health claims made in vape shops: an observational study and content analysis).
- The mean number of health claims was 15.0 per retail-chain shop versus 1.4 per independent shop (Health claims made in vape shops: an observational study and content analysis).
That pattern shows that claim density can be very concentrated even when the share of shops with claims looks more balanced.
Store density and market structure
Vape shop density is easier to understand when it is compared with another common retail category.
In the six-MSA density study, researchers identified 459 vape shops and 10,777 convenience stores across 4,442 census tracts (Vape shop identification, density and place characteristics in six metropolitan areas across the US).
Dense retail comparison
| Metric | Vape shops | Convenience stores | Source label |
|---|---|---|---|
| Count identified | 459 | 10,777 | Vape shop identification, density and place characteristics in six metropolitan areas across the US |
| Average roadway distance between stores | 2.7 miles | 0.5 miles | Vape shop identification, density and place characteristics in six metropolitan areas across the US |
| Per 10,000 young adults, density range | 0.6 to 1.7 | 12.6 to 26.3 | Vape shop identification, density and place characteristics in six metropolitan areas across the US |
A few more figures from the same study make the geographic spread clearer:
- Of 894 tagged locations, 51.3% were confirmed vape shops that did not sell other tobacco products (Vape shop identification, density and place characteristics in six metropolitan areas across the US).
- That 51.3% share ranged from 38.1% in San Diego to 71.3% in Oklahoma City (Vape shop identification, density and place characteristics in six metropolitan areas across the US).
- Across the six MSAs, there were 23 times as many convenience stores as vape shops (Vape shop identification, density and place characteristics in six metropolitan areas across the US).
- Per 10,000 young adults, vape shop density ranged from 0.6 in Boston and San Diego to 1.7 in Oklahoma City (Vape shop identification, density and place characteristics in six metropolitan areas across the US).
- Convenience store density ranged from 12.6 per 10,000 young adults in San Diego to 26.3 in Oklahoma City (Vape shop identification, density and place characteristics in six metropolitan areas across the US).
This is the clearest way to read the market structure data: vape shops are widespread enough to map meaningfully, but they are still much fewer than convenience stores and tend to cluster in ways that differ by city.
Openings, closures, and turnover
The dataset also captures a retail category that changes quickly.
In the six-MSA closure/opening study, 739 stores were verified in April-May 2018, and 919 stores were verified in July-September 2019 (Turning over a new leaf: Vape shop closings, openings and transitions in six U.S. Metropolitan statistical areas).
The most useful figures are the change rates:
- Within 16 months, 11.5% of 739 stores had closed (Turning over a new leaf: Vape shop closings, openings and transitions in six U.S. Metropolitan statistical areas).
- 29.8% of the 919 stores at follow-up had newly opened (Turning over a new leaf: Vape shop closings, openings and transitions in six U.S. Metropolitan statistical areas).
- Vape-only stores were 2.51 times as likely to close as vape-plus-other-tobacco-product stores (Turning over a new leaf: Vape shop closings, openings and transitions in six U.S. Metropolitan statistical areas).
- Vape-only stores were less likely to open, with an adjusted odds ratio of 0.46 (Turning over a new leaf: Vape shop closings, openings and transitions in six U.S. Metropolitan statistical areas).
- In Long Beach, 53% of vape shops closed between 2015 and 2018, equal to 9 of 19 stores (Turning over a new leaf: Vape shop closings, openings and transitions in six U.S. Metropolitan statistical areas).
The turnover pattern is important because it suggests that vape shop statistics should not be read as a fixed snapshot. The category can open, close, and transition fast enough that timing changes the picture.
Pricing and promotions
Pricing data in the dataset show a retail environment that changed noticeably between 2018 and 2021.
Here are the product ranges reported in the California product-points-of-sale study:
- In 2021, disposables ranged from $12.15 to $26.62 (Changes in the Point-of-Sale Among Vape Shops in Six U.S. Metropolitan Areas Over Time, 2018–2021).
- In 2021, cartridge-based products ranged from $24.67 to $45.32 (Changes in the Point-of-Sale Among Vape Shops in Six U.S. Metropolitan Areas Over Time, 2018–2021).
- In 2021, pod mods ranged from $31.81 to $65.22 (Changes in the Point-of-Sale Among Vape Shops in Six U.S. Metropolitan Areas Over Time, 2018–2021).
- In 2021, box mods ranged from $58.82 to $122.72 (Changes in the Point-of-Sale Among Vape Shops in Six U.S. Metropolitan Areas Over Time, 2018–2021).
- In 2021, e-liquids ranged from $0.38/mL to $0.45/mL (Changes in the Point-of-Sale Among Vape Shops in Six U.S. Metropolitan Areas Over Time, 2018–2021).
The bigger story is promotion decline:
- E-cigarette price promotions fell from 83.2% of shops in 2018 to 20.2% in 2021 (Changes in the Point-of-Sale Among Vape Shops in Six U.S. Metropolitan Areas Over Time, 2018–2021).
- E-liquid buy-one-get-one style specials fell from 55.9% in 2018 to 9.2% in 2021 (Changes in the Point-of-Sale Among Vape Shops in Six U.S. Metropolitan Areas Over Time, 2018–2021).
- Daily, weekly, or monthly e-liquid specials fell from 24.0% to 9.2% (Changes in the Point-of-Sale Among Vape Shops in Six U.S. Metropolitan Areas Over Time, 2018–2021).
- Shops with product or price-promotion signage fell from 89.9% to 65.5% (Changes in the Point-of-Sale Among Vape Shops in Six U.S. Metropolitan Areas Over Time, 2018–2021).
- Shops with e-liquid promotion signage fell from 84.4% to 54.6% (Changes in the Point-of-Sale Among Vape Shops in Six U.S. Metropolitan Areas Over Time, 2018–2021).
- Shops with e-liquid price-promotion signage fell from 45.8% to 13.4% (Changes in the Point-of-Sale Among Vape Shops in Six U.S. Metropolitan Areas Over Time, 2018–2021).
- Shops with signs promoting CBD rose from 26.1% to 30.3% (Changes in the Point-of-Sale Among Vape Shops in Six U.S. Metropolitan Areas Over Time, 2018–2021).
- Shops with signs including cartoon imagery fell from 27.4% to 11.8% (Changes in the Point-of-Sale Among Vape Shops in Six U.S. Metropolitan Areas Over Time, 2018–2021).
- Shops with health or cessation claims fell from 29.1% to 12.6% (Changes in the Point-of-Sale Among Vape Shops in Six U.S. Metropolitan Areas Over Time, 2018–2021).
- Membership, loyalty, or rewards programs fell from 41.3% to 21.0% (Changes in the Point-of-Sale Among Vape Shops in Six U.S. Metropolitan Areas Over Time, 2018–2021).
- 11.8% of shops offered curbside pickup in 2021 (Changes in the Point-of-Sale Among Vape Shops in Six U.S. Metropolitan Areas Over Time, 2018–2021).
Health claims and in-store messaging
Vape shop statistics are often read through sales, but the dataset shows that messaging is just as central.
The health-claims observational study found that retailers were not only selling products; they were also displaying a large number of health-related statements and visual cues.
Two figures stand out immediately:
- 41.3% of retailers displayed at least one health claim (Health claims made in vape shops: an observational study and content analysis).
- The 104 coded photos contained 135 health claims across 47 unique claims (Health claims made in vape shops: an observational study and content analysis).
A few more context points help explain the environment:
- 89.1% of stores offered free e-liquid sampling (Health claims made in vape shops: an observational study and content analysis).
- 50% had people actively vaping indoors (Health claims made in vape shops: an observational study and content analysis).
- 54.3% were part of retail chains with more than 2 locations (Health claims made in vape shops: an observational study and content analysis).
The chain-versus-independent split is especially notable because the density of claims was so uneven:
- Retail-chain shops accounted for 88.9% of all claims (Health claims made in vape shops: an observational study and content analysis).
- Independent shops accounted for 11.1% of all claims (Health claims made in vape shops: an observational study and content analysis).
- The mean number of health claims was 15.0 per retail-chain shop versus 1.4 per independent shop (Health claims made in vape shops: an observational study and content analysis).
For readers scanning vape shop statistics, that kind of concentration matters because it shows how retail messaging can differ sharply by store type even when the overall market category looks similar on the surface.
Customer visitation patterns
The dataset also includes a young-adult survey showing who visits vape shops and what those visitors tend to report.
In the national sample study, 11% of respondents had ever visited a vape shop, and the weighted sample included n=3,542 respondents aged 18 to 34 (Visited a vape shop? Prevalence and correlates from a national sample of U.S. young adults).
Visitor profile at a glance
- 60% of vape-shop visitors reported past-30-day use of any tobacco product versus 17% of non-visitors (Visited a vape shop? Prevalence and correlates from a national sample of U.S. young adults).
- 38% of vape-shop visitors were past-30-day cigarette smokers (Visited a vape shop? Prevalence and correlates from a national sample of U.S. young adults).
- 25% were past-30-day e-cigarette users (Visited a vape shop? Prevalence and correlates from a national sample of U.S. young adults).
- 10% were past-30-day cigar users (Visited a vape shop? Prevalence and correlates from a national sample of U.S. young adults).
- 7% were past-30-day hookah users (Visited a vape shop? Prevalence and correlates from a national sample of U.S. young adults).
- 39% of vape-shop visitors had never used e-cigarettes (Visited a vape shop? Prevalence and correlates from a national sample of U.S. young adults).
The same study also shows broader behavior differences:
- 66% of vape-shop visitors reported past-30-day alcohol use versus 54% of the full sample (Visited a vape shop? Prevalence and correlates from a national sample of U.S. young adults).
- 30% reported past-30-day marijuana use versus 11% of the full sample (Visited a vape shop? Prevalence and correlates from a national sample of U.S. young adults).
- 7% reported past-30-day other drug use versus 2% of the full sample (Visited a vape shop? Prevalence and correlates from a national sample of U.S. young adults).
Associations with visitation
The odds ratios in the study show strong links between recent substance use and vape-shop visitation:
- Past-30-day e-cigarette use was associated with 15.03-fold higher odds of vape-shop visitation (Visited a vape shop? Prevalence and correlates from a national sample of U.S. young adults).
- Past-30-day hookah use was associated with 6.18-fold higher odds of visitation (Visited a vape shop? Prevalence and correlates from a national sample of U.S. young adults).
- Past-30-day marijuana use was associated with 1.64-fold higher odds of visitation (Visited a vape shop? Prevalence and correlates from a national sample of U.S. young adults).
- Past-30-day other drug use was associated with 3.41-fold higher odds of visitation (Visited a vape shop? Prevalence and correlates from a national sample of U.S. young adults).
- Past-30-day cigarette use was associated with 1.64-fold higher odds of visitation (Visited a vape shop? Prevalence and correlates from a national sample of U.S. young adults).
The neighborhood breakdown in the observational sample adds another layer:
- 77 vape shops were observed (Who walks into vape shops in Southern California?: a naturalistic observation of customers).
- Customers were observed in 59 of those shops (Who walks into vape shops in Southern California?: a naturalistic observation of customers).
- 186 customers were observed in total (Who walks into vape shops in Southern California?: a naturalistic observation of customers).
- 24% of observed customers were female (Who walks into vape shops in Southern California?: a naturalistic observation of customers).
- Female customers ranged from 23% in Korean neighborhoods to 29% in non-Hispanic White neighborhoods, 11% in Hispanic neighborhoods, and 16% in African American neighborhoods (Who walks into vape shops in Southern California?: a naturalistic observation of customers).
What the numbers say about vape shops
Across inspections, mapping studies, price observations, and visitor surveys, the same themes keep repeating in the dataset:
- Vape shops can be retailers, manufacturers, or both.
- Licensing and enforcement rules vary widely by state and territory.
- Store density is meaningful, but vape shops still sit in a retail landscape dominated by convenience stores.
- Openings and closures happen fast enough that the category changes between study windows.
- Promotions, claims, and sampling are common enough to shape the in-store experience.
- Visitors are often already connected to broader tobacco and other substance-use patterns.
That is the core pattern behind the keyword vape shop statistics: not a single number, but a layered retail category with shifting store formats, uneven regulation, and highly variable in-store practices (Notes from the Field: Inspection of 59 “Vape Shops” — United States, October–November, 2016; STATE System Licensure Fact Sheet; Changes in the Point-of-Sale Among Vape Shops in Six U.S. Metropolitan Areas Over Time, 2018–2021; Visited a vape shop? Prevalence and correlates from a national sample of U.S. young adults).