Convenience stores lost more than £5m in vape sales during the first full week of the government’s disposable vapes ban, according to new data from Talysis.

Figures from the retail data firm, which tracks sales across thousands of convenience stores using EPoS data, also revealed that more than £1m worth of illegal disposable vape sales took place during the same period, highlighting the challenges of enforcement.

Before the ban, the vaping category was worth around £23m per week in UK convenience stores. However, in the week ending 8 June, sales dropped to £17.8m.

Despite the ban, disposable vapes still generated over £1m in sales during the week. While some stores reduced prices to clear stock, average prices remained stable, indicating no widespread discounting.

Regionally, Scotland experienced the sharpest fall in sales, down by 36%, followed by Northern Ireland (31%) and north east England (27%). All UK regions recorded a minimum decline of 20%.

Wales and Yorkshire and Humber saw the smallest drops at 20%, although Yorkshire and Humber recorded the highest proportion of disposable vape sales, making up 18% of the region’s total vape sales. Wales had the lowest at just 2%, followed by south east England at 4%.

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Alternative products have yet to close the sales gap left by disposables. Unit sales of small puff 2ml kits are now around double those of larger formats, but the shift is not enough to offset overall losses.

In the same period, 10+2ml kits saw a 24% increase in value sales, compared to 11% for 2ml kits. Pod sales, which support reusable devices, also rose by 21%, although kit sales still significantly outpace pod uptake. As consumers adapt to reusable formats, this is expected to change.

In the “big puff” space, 12ml (10+2ml) kits are leading the way. Talysis data shows that for every 4-in-1 kit sold, approximately 3.5 10+ml kits are purchased.

Meanwhile, oral nicotine products — such as nicotine pouches — saw a 5% increase in value sales during the same week, although growth had been flat in previous weeks.

Ed Roberts, managing director of Talysis, said: “This is such a challenging time for retailers and, for the vast majority who are adhering to the ban, there’s no doubt that there’s at least some short-term pain to suffer within the vaping category alone.

“Our data presents a tough picture of how the ban is impacting sales and how the alternative options are yet to compensate fully and replace disposable use. Whilst it’s early days, a £5m loss in the first week alone is a major hole to fill.”

Read more: More funding needed to enforce disposable vape ban