Vapouround magazine ISSUE 19 | Page 111

“ The massive rise in popularity of vaping around 2014 to 2016 spurred on the movement of not just lots of products , but more importantly what can be classed as ‘ disposable ’ products . Is this current trend sustainable ?”

Everyone reading this , whether you are a store owner , a reviewer , an industry analyst , or even a vaper visiting your local vape shop , you will probably nod your head in agreement with the next statement . There is a lot of product being released on to the market . It started around 2015 when there was a definitive shift in the e-cigarette products being released and then reached the current levels around the beginning of 2017 . The market and manufacturer shift from a new product or kit every two or three months , to a new product every few weeks , and in some cases , what seems like every week . It was the case that before the rise of the stock coil sub-ohm tank , which started with the Aspire Atlantis , a new stock coiler would be on the store shelves for at least four to five months before another replacement came around . The classic example was the Aspire Nautilus and the Innokin range of iClear tanks . Then the sub-ohm market exploded , and along with it the start of the original version of the wattage race . Who could get to 200 watts the quickest . Now , as store managers , reviewers and even vapers , we are seeing product adverts from multiple companies , over multiple weeks , all releasing multiple products in a very short time scale . Atomisers , whether they be stock or rebuildable , mods and full kits released the week you are reading this article will be considered old by the time the next issue of Vapouround comes out , and then considered outdated by the time the new year is upon us . The massive rise in popularity of vaping around 2014 to 2016 spurred on the movement of not just lots of products , but more importantly what can be classed as ‘ disposable ’ products . The general price of a kit these days , from a starter kit to a sub-ohm kit has dropped significantly since two years ago to the point that if a mod breaks , well no big deal . Just buy another ! Is this current trend sustainable ? For now , it is . However , there is a big problem on the horizon with the current trend of releases . First of all is the market itself . Smokers who wanted to give up smoking and move on to vaping have , for the most part , already done so . Sure , there are still tens of millions of smokers around the planet who can still take up vaping , but that massive rush that the industry received in 2016 is turning into a slow meandering stream rather than a river in full spate . The next problem is also down to ‘ old stock .’ Vape shops who contact me about a review I have done or whether I ’ m about to review a new product have been telling me in no uncertain terms that the issue they are currently having is one of old stock laying around in their shop that they need to sell off quick in order to get the newer items in . The problem is , the “ old ” stock we are talking about are tanks , drippers and mods that are less than , wait for it , four months old . The market base , which is the pool of vapers living in the catchment area of a vape shop , is still growing , but at nowhere near the levels they used to . However , it does mean that there are still new faces coming into that shop to buy items from the store shelf . What happens when the market starts to go into what could essentially be called a stagnation ? That is the big question . The current levels of produce are sustainable . However , there will come a time , possibly within the next 12 months , when the first signs of the slow decline and then market stagnation of new vapers and even current vapers buying that new item starts to appear . The biggest question is , will the manufacturers themselves realise that this is going to happen and slow down their production of new mods and atomisers , or , will the industry turn into a star that ’ s turning into a red giant , constantly expanding outwards while eating itself from within , only to end with a huge collapse ? Time will tell . For 2019 , especially the holiday season from Thanksgiving in the US until Christmas , that is going to be the big sign . The industry is on the crest of that wave that was formed in 2015 and 2016 , how long will that wave keep its crest is what 2019 is going to show .
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