Just about everyone on earth has heard about the coronavirus outbreak from the start of 2020. During the pandemic, people are rapidly catching the virus. As coronavirus spreads through human contact with the infected person, it is difficult to avoid infection.
According to the CDC, the most effective way to avoid infection is to maintain distance from others and keep yourself isolated. Because of such safety measures, people have gone into quarantine. The virus is so dangerous that people are experiencing serious symptoms, and there have already been numerous coronavirus-related deaths. So following all safety measures is highly important for you and your family.
But as we are taking safety measures, things are not the same as before. The first and most important thing that is changing is consumer behavior. When consumer behavior changes, advertising should change in response. It is obvious as this deadly virus is roaming around the world, consumers will not react as they used to. Advertisement campaigns and events are all suspended. So when we talk about marketing a Vape brand, campaigns have faced similar effects. So today, we will discuss how COVID-19 has affected the vape brands’ marketing:
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Shops are Closed
Since the Government has announced a lockdown in many U.S. states, it is difficult for customers to visit retail stores and buy products. The Government is making sure that more and more people are off the roads and stay inside their homes to be safe from this virus. So leisure centers, gyms, and restaurants are also closed. This is so that the public stays at home, lowering the spread of corona.
However, some vape shops are allowed to open as they are located in areas such as malls, supermarkets, etc., as they are opening after taking safety precautions and maintaining social distance protocol. Demo testing and flavor testing is not allowed as it can increase the chances of spreading the virus.
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Employees are not Available
During the lockdown situation, most US businesses are closed. For those ones that are still operating, employees are working from home where possible. People are taking their responsibilities to home and working remotely. However, some business models don’t align with the home office. Vape shops are one of them.
People need to visit a retail store and choose a vaporizer and vape products of their choice. However, you cannot sell products from home until you are dealing online and providing your customers with home delivery. Although this may work on a low scale, it still affects the marketing of vape products in a way that it used to be.
Most consumers do not trust online stores, and they prefer purchasing from retail. They want to compare the popular Juul vs vape pens, check how the functions work, and how conveniently they can hold and conceal the product, etc. All this is not possible through an online store. Hence, a lot of customers back off and wait for retail stores to open.
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Shipments
As the pandemic is going worldwide, many countries have closed their airspace and airports for flight to avoid any further spread of the disease. This has caused massive problems for supplies and products to reach from one place to another. Vape suppliers have to wait until this crisis is over if they want to stock up on a variety of new models. Many vape suppliers have stocked up their products to have enough vaporizers and accessories to meet their customers’ needs. However, this can be tough for suppliers to manage as they need employees and proper management to manage the entire stock.
Secondly, most vape products are imported to the USA from China. The virus also started spreading the Wuhan province in China. As the virus started to spread, almost every country closed its flights with China to protect its citizens. Although China has effectively managed the spread of the virus, suppliers are still facing problems receiving their shipments, as many countries are still under the virus’s attack, especially the USA.
Conclusion
The vape industry is also suffering a lot due to COVID-19. Even more, factors affect the marketing of the vape industry other than the problems mentioned above. While things are returning back to normal, the vape industry, just like any other industry, has faced problems selling their products to their customers.
