2024 is a year of challenges for the tobacco industry and retail

By: Tóth Zoltán Date: 2024. 03. 28. 10:06

Annual tobacco retail sales are expected to have increased in 2023, even if industry players were facing a number of adverse changes last year. Manufacturers of FMCG products sold in tobacco shops can be satisfied with the double-digit sales growth, albeit the growth was slightly slower than in previous years.

This article is available for reading in Trade magazin 2024/2-3

Zoltán Tóth
founding CEO
DigInStore

The tobacco market, like other sectors of domestic retail, has been hit by a number of adverse effects over the past year. The share of the black market has reached 15-16%. TrafikTV, which already operates in 900 National Tobacco Shops and reaches almost 900,000 consumers, can serve as a platform for a consumer education and CSR campaign, which can also count on the support of the domestic tobacco industry players to fight black market products.

Stricter rules

Besides the difficult market conditions, the sector is also facing a number of regulatory changes in 2024. The conditions under which tobacco products are displayed in tobacco shops will also change and will be subject to clear regulation. Earlier there was the introduction of “neutral” or “uniform” packaging, which virtually eliminated brand image differentiation, and now here are the new conditions – all of these make it difficult for tobacco companies/wholesalers to compete with each other. Another change is the EU-compliant regulation that will come into force in the second half of the year, banning the sales of flavoured heated tobacco sticks. These developments could lead to a further restructuring of the market. In these circumstances it is certain that the FMCG products in tobacco shops will deserve more attention. //