Co-op pushes vape purchases in bid to recover from cyber-attack

The Coop has quietly told staff to boost promotion of vapes in an effort to win back customers and sales after its devastating cyber-attack.

- Zoe Wood

The retailer is making vapes more prominent in stores via new displays and advertising, according to an internal document seen by the Guardian. It is also stocking a bigger range of vapes and nicotine pouches.

The mutual's plan is to tackle the big sales drop after the April hack that resulted in gaps on its shelves.

Called "Powering Up: Focus Sprint: Cigs, Tobacco and Vape" the document explains that "sales haven't recovered compared to pre-cyber". In a section headed: "Why we need to focus on this category" it says there are "£1m missing sales per week" and 100,000 fewer transactions.

It states: "We know at least 40% of this is customers forming a new habit, shopping elsewhere as they wouldn't go without their cigarettes, tobacco or vapes. This means we've also lost sales from what would've been in their basket."