由于Covid-19新冠肺炎隔离，大多数专业的线上电子烟零售商已对其零售业务进行了改革，线上销售其产品并提供家庭 送货服务。大多数企业必须增加其仓库空间，增加其客户服务团队的规模，并为电子烟和烟民建立在线和电话咨询渠道。
自然，线上零售商的需求已大大增加。其中一家零售商Vape Club的业务增长了150-300％。“通常，当我们遇到比正常情况（例如圣诞节）大的订单量时，我们会增加人员配备。但是，在这种情况下，这是不可能的，相反，我们延长了轮班时间，并在周末增加了轮班时间。”董事总经理Dan Marchant说。
必须设置必要的预防性限制
随后，既然企业可能自去年3月该国进入封锁以来首次重新开设网点，那么电子烟商店需要设置社交隔离标志，在销售柜台上安装有机玻璃屏幕，零售人员必须戴上帽檐，同时，必须遵守关于客户数量的限制措施。
英国最大的电子烟独立商店之一VPZ的生产和规划总监Doug Mutter说：“我们一直非常忙于安装所有必要的措施，以便我们完全遵守政府的指导以确保我们员工和客户的安全。”
“我们会要求客户保持耐心，因为我们遵循疏远指导，这可能会限制在店的客户数量。我们还鼓励持卡付款（最好是非接触式），并且我们已经移除了所有测试机和样机，因此客户无法接触和传递任何东西，但是我们受过专业培训的人员将一如既往地提供全面建议。”
电子烟零售商Evapo的首席执行官Andrej Kuttruf在英国拥有37家商店，他补充说，除了新的店内安全功能外，电子烟商店还将限制营业时间。“我们的商店营业时间上午10点至下午5.30点，每周6天。同时，我们已经准备了酒精喷嚏、供顾客使用的洗手液，还为商店团队和排队者准备的口罩和手套，以强调社交距离。我们的商店团队将戴上帽檐，我们还将向公众出售各种个人防护设备和洗手液。”
Oxford Vapors向前迈进了一步，并且根据NHS的建议，还显示了大型的教育信息图形，其中包含有关电子烟的优点和电子烟的一般信息。“电子烟商店的好处之一是他们为希望戒烟的烟民和电子烟烟民提供的专业建议。在我们的墙上贴上这样的建议将有助于在新商店环境中进行宣传。”店主Dan Greenall说。
ECigWizard在英国拥有54家商店，它还提供了其他清洁产品和洗手液，并提供了有关在关键接触点增加清洁的明确说明。
该行业一直“敏捷而足智多谋”
英国电子烟工业协会（UKVIA）主任John Dunne评论说：“该行业非常敏捷和足智多谋，起初必须在一夜之间过渡到线上商业模式。彼时商店不得不在隔离期间关闭，然后在完全不同的操作环境下重新启动。”
“行业已经为新的店内社交距离政府指导花了很多时间做好准备工作，这意味着客户可以放心在当地的电子烟商店购物。”
UK Vape Shops to Reopened Last Week
June 34, 3030
Due to the Covid-19 lockdown, most specialist online vape retailers had remodelled their retail operations to sell their products online and offer home-deliveries. Most businesses had to add to their warehouse space, increased the size of their customer service teams and set up online and telephone-based advice channels for vapers and smokers.
Naturally, online retailers have experienced a considerable increase in demand. One such retailer, Vape Club, has reported a 150-300% increase in business. “Normally, when we experience larger order volumes than normal such as at Christmas, we would increase staffing levels to COPe. However, this hasn’t been possible due to the circumstances and instead we’ve extended shift times and added ones at the weekend,” said Managing Director Dan Marchant.
The necessary precautionary restrictions to be set in place
Subsequently, now that businesses may reopen their outlets for the first time since the country went into lockdown last March, vape shops need to set in place social distancing markings, install perspex screens at sales counters, head visors must be worn by retail staff and restrictions on the number of customers must be adhered to.
“We’ve been extremely busy installing all the necessary measures so that we completely adhere to the government guidance to ensure the safety of our staff and customers,” said Doug Mutter, Manufacturing and Compliance Director at VPZ, one of the largest independent vape shop chains in the UK.
“We would ask our customers to be patient as we follow distancing guidance which may limit the numbers of customers in store at any one time. We are also encouraging card payments (preferably contactless) and we have removed all testers and device samples, so nothing can be touched and passed around, but our expert trained staff are on hand to offer full advice as always.”
Andrej Kuttruf, Chief Executive at vape retailer Evapo, which has 37 stores in the UK, added that besides the new in-store safety features, vape shops will also be opening on restricted timings. “Our stores will be open on restricted opening times 10am – 5.30pm, 6 days a week. We have prepared Sneeze Screens at the till, hand sanitizers for customers, masks and gloves for our store teams and floor liners to indicate social distance. Our store teams will be wearing head visors and we are also selling a wide range of PPE and hand sanitizers to the public.”
Oxford Vapours are TAKIng this a step further and also displaying large educational inforMATion graphics, based on NHS advice, on the pros of vaping and general information for vapers. “One of the benefits of vape shops is the specialist advice they give to both smokers looking to quit and also vapers. Having such advice featured on our walls will help this process in the new shop environment,” said owner Dan Greenall.
While ECigWizard, which has 54 stores across the UK, has also provided additional cleaning products and hand sanitizer along with clear instructions on increasing cleaning at key touch points.
The industry has been “agile and resourceful”
John Dunne, Director at the UK Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA) commented: “The industry has been phenomenally agile and resourceful in initially having to transition overnight to an online business model when shops had to close during the lockdown and then start up again with a very different operating environment.”
“The lengths to which the industry has gone to get their shops ready for the new government guidance on social distancing in-store means that customers can feel very reassured about shopping in their local vape stores.”
