--- title: "Cigarette Consumers Shift to Fourth-Tier Brands Amid Rising Prices" url: https://burnaze.com/article/a22553fc-56b4-47d3-a546-0dc1cd484951 source: "CStore Decisions" original_url: https://cstoredecisions.com/cigarette-consumers-shift-to-fourth-tier-brands-amid-rising-prices/ author: "Erin Del Conte" category: "Retail" industry: "Retail" published: 2026-06-08T13:47:41.000Z modified: 2026-10-31T13:19:55.502Z image: https://cstoredecisions.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/cigars-print-edit.jpg --- # Cigarette Consumers Shift to Fourth-Tier Brands Amid Rising Prices **TL;DR:** Cigarette consumers are shifting to fourth-tier brands due to rising prices, with retailers such as Cliff's Local Market and Signal Food Stores seeing unit sales declines. Convenience store operators are adapting to the trend by focusing on value and fourth-tier products, with some also seeing growth in other tobacco segments like cigars and tobacco accessories. *By Erin Del Conte, originally published in CStore Decisions on 2026-06-08. [Read the original](https://cstoredecisions.com/cigarette-consumers-shift-to-fourth-tier-brands-amid-rising-prices/).* ## Key facts - Cigarette dollar sales were flat at $50.7 billion - Fourth-tier brands are driving growth in cigarettes - Cigar sales are up 1% in units at Cliff’s Local Market ## Story As customers rein in their spending due to economic pressures, retailers are seeing more cigarette shoppers trading down to fourth-tier brands or shifting to other tobacco segments. ## Cigarette sales trends Cigarette dollar sales in convenience stores rolled in at flat (down 0.6%) at $50.7 billion for the 52 weeks ending March 22, 2026, with unit sales down 5.9% and price per unit up 5.7%, according to Total U.S. Convenience data from Chicago-based research firm Circana. Retailers are seeing the trend play out at store level. At Cliff’s Local Market, with 22 stores throughout central New York, cigarette unit sales fell 3.98% in 2025. “Customers are trading down or out of the combustible category all together,” confirmed William Laraby, purchasing, manager, Cliffs Local Market. The only growth Cliff’s is seeing in the cigarette category is coming from fourth-tier products. “For the first time in our company total other tobacco product (OTP) gross margin has surpassed cigarette gross margin for year ending 2025,” Laraby explained. “The majority of that was led by the new modern oral category.” Meanwhile at Signal Food Stores, cigarette sales have seen double-digit growth since the chain dropped the EDLP (everyday low price) program last year, “however all that growth is coming from the cheap, fourth-tier brands,” noted Sean Bumgarner, VP, Scrivener Oil Co. Inc. dba Signal Food Stores, which operates 13 locations in Missouri. “People are looking for value and are trading down to fourth-tier or looking for deal or promos on their favorite brand of cigarettes,” Bumgarner said. That said, the chain expects cigarette sales to be up in 2026. Erin Slater, category manager, InConvenience Inc., which operates Gas Spot (with fuel) and Good Spot (without fuel) convenience stores, agreed. “Ongoing pricing pressure and inflation continue to drive heightened price sensitivity among consumers, and many are actively trading down into value and fourth-tier cigarettes. In response, we’ve had to position ourselves to be more competitive in this space.” But even though the cigarette segment overall is experiencing volume declines, InConvenience Inc. expects “relatively stable performance in 2026,” Slater said. The woman-led company opened in early 2024, and it currently operates 29 stores in Missouri, Iowa, Arkansas and Texas. “As a newer operator, we are still in a growth phase and are seeing category gains as we build awareness, optimize assortment and establish our position in the market,” Slater added. ## Cigar sales performance Cigar sales in c-stores came in flat (down 0.7%) totaling $4.09 billion for the 52 weeks ending March 22, 2026, according to Circana, with unit sales down 6%. Dollar sales of large mass cigars were flat (0.0%) in dollar sales and down 5.3% in unit sales, while premium cigars fell 9.6% in dollar sales and dropped 19.1% in unit sales for the period. Little cigars faced the biggest declines, down 18.2% in dollar sales and 22.5% in unit sales. Cigar sales are faring better at Cliff’s Local Market than they are nationally. Laraby reported that sales are up 1% in units, 7% in dollar sales and 9.7% in gross margin for 2025. A shift in strategy has been behind the boost. “A couple years ago we reduced our cigar offerings and stopped brining in every limited-time offering (LTO) under the sun, in part due to the New York State cigar tax,” he explained. Instead, the chain focused in on stocking the cigar products customers were routinely buying. The move paid off. “We continue to see modest growth by focusing on the core items. When we were taking in all the LTOs and new items, we found stores were routinely out of the better selling items as (we) tried to move through LTOs,” Laraby said. Cliff’s still sells LTO cigars, but today the chain is more selective about which LTOs they bring in. In 2026, individual small cigars, two-pack cigarillos and flavored blunts are driving the most sales at Cliff’s. “We have seen a 29% increase in Black & Mild singles and a 24% increase in BluntVille singles,” he said. Meanwhile, in Missouri, Signal Food Stores has found the most success with flavored cigars and LTOs. “Currently, our year-to-date volume for cigars is up slightly,” Bumgarner said, attributing that to the chain’s success with LTOs. At InConvenience Inc., value remains a key driver for cigar shoppers, just like it is with cigarette customers. “Consumers are increasingly seeking affordability, with multi-pack formats and price-promoted offerings are outperforming,” Slater said. “At the same time, the category is benefiting from demand for variety and flavor. As we continue to develop our assortment, we are focused on implementing manufacturer-supported programs to improve visibility, drive trial and better align with customer preferences.” Flavored cigars are currently the primary growth driver within the chain’s cigar assortment, Slater said. “Over the past year, we have expanded our authorized assortment to better meet customer demand, which has contributed to increased sales in this segment,” Slater added. “We continue to see opportunity in balancing flavor offerings with other key formats to support trial and repeat purchase.” ## Tobacco accessories market Cliff’s has seen the tobacco accessories market shifting as tobacco trends change. In 2025, for example, unit sales of rolling papers declined by 5%, while unit sales of pre-rolled, fillable cones rose by 29% — a trend likely driven by the legalization of cannabis in New York. Meanwhile at Signal Food Stores, “Lighters and rolling papers are doing great,” Bumgarner said. Good Spot and Gas Spot stores offer a limited assortment of accessories currently, with rolling papers representing the primary item as the chain focuses on building the core tobacco categories, Slater explained. “As we expand, we see opportunity to drive incremental sales through a more comprehensive accessory set and improved merchandising to encourage add-on purchases,” she added. Gas Spot and Good Spot stores are playfully nicknamed “the G Spot,” a moniker the chain is leaning into because it’s both memorable and attention-getting with customers. Recently, the chain saw an opportunity to leverage its creative name to boost accessories sales and began selling branded lighters “with cheeky sayings,” explained Lindsay Griffith, marketing and community engagement manager, for InConvenience Inc. “The idea came from customers who asked for ‘G Spot lighters,’ and boy did we get them some memorable designs! Alicia LaFollette, our brand director, designed the lighters and they certainly make an impression,” Griffith said. Griffith did an analysis of the chain’s lighter sales and out of 1,400 lighters sold in the last year, she found that some of the bestselling lighters consisted of two designs with popular logos. “We leaned into our cheeky branding with three single-color designs, pricing them below the logo-ed lighters, and giving them front and center placement on the displays. After only four weeks of sales, the branded lighters are our second highest-selling brand. They’re definitely giving the other brands a run for their money,” Griffith said. Upselling by store employees takes some of the credit. “We hear consistently from employees that suggesting a lighter or matches when someone is buying combustibles is an easy basket builder,” Griffith said. “Employees have told me that they just say, ‘Do you need a light for that?’ and customers realize that they do need a lighter or matches. I think the obvious connection to what it is being purchased, and that the suggestion is often appreciated by the customer, makes that question an easy go-to for basket building.” ## Entities - Retail (sector) - CStore Decisions (publication) - convenience stores (topic) - Erin Del Conte (person) - Circana (company) - InConvenience Inc. (company) - Lindsay Griffith (person) - Cliff's Local Market (company) - Erin Slater (person) - Alicia LaFollette (person) - Sean Bumgarner (person) - cigarette sales (topic) --- Originally reported by Erin Del Conte, CStore Decisions (https://cstoredecisions.com/cigarette-consumers-shift-to-fourth-tier-brands-amid-rising-prices/). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/a22553fc-56b4-47d3-a546-0dc1cd484951).