Putting Age-Verification Systems to the Test: Physical Retailers
Preventing youth access to nicotine products is a priority for responsible retailers. To assess how consistently UK retailers apply age verification checks, Haypp commissioned mystery shopping tests at 73 physical retail outlets. The results reveal significant gaps in the age verification processes among many retailers.
Key Takeaways
- Just 36% of the 73 physical shops tested requested proof of age.
- All six supermarkets requested ID and refused sales when it wasn’t provided.
- Only one-third of vape shops asked mystery shoppers to present ID.
- Independent convenience shops had the lowest ID-check rate, at just 14%.
- Haypp calls for stronger enforcement and tougher penalties to improve retail compliance.
Why Haypp Put Retail Age Checks to the Test
The available evidence suggests that the application of age-verification checks by retailers is inconsistent across the UK retail environment.
To assess how consistently retailers of alternative nicotine products apply age-verification checks, and to compare practices across retail categories and sales channels, Haypp commissioned a mystery shopping agency to conduct test purchases at physical and online retailers.
In this article, we publish the results of the test purchases from physical retailers. You can read about the results of our test purchasing of online retailers in this article.
What Types of Retailers Were Tested?
73 physical retail outlets that sold vapes and/or nicotine pouches were selected. These included vape shops, independent convenience shops, franchised retailers, and supermarkets.
This selection was made to get an insight into how some of the main categories of retailers of alternative nicotine products approach age verification.
| Retailer Type | Number of Shops Tested | Rationale for Selection |
| Vape shops | 54 | Vape shops are the most visible physical retail channel for vapes and are often accused of being a source of underage sales. |
| Independent convenience shops | 7 | Survey data indicates that convenience shops are a major source for underage sales. |
| Franchised retailers | 6 |
Retailers with a similar profile to convenience shops, but with operating procedures set by a headquarters. Therefore, high standards for age verification processes would be expected. |
| Supermarkets | 6 | A significant source of volume of purchases in the UK and expected to have robust age verification processes in place. |
The retail outlets selected were distributed across 8 cities:
- Bristol
- Birmingham
- Cardiff
- Leeds
- Liverpool
- London
- Manchester
- Sheffield
The Test Purchase Process
Mystery shoppers under 25 years old were selected to conduct the test purchases. This was to maximise the likelihood of triggering an age verification check in the shops.
The mystery shopper would attempt to purchase one vape. If challenged to prove they were over 18, they would not present any form of ID. They would proceed to purchase the vape product if they were allowed to do so.
How Did the Retail Outlets Perform?
The mystery shopping revealed significant weaknesses in the application of age checks by some retailers.
Was the Mystery Shopper Asked to Present ID?
The mystery shoppers recorded whether they were asked for ID while attempting to make the purchase. Mystery shoppers were asked to show ID at just 27 of the 73 retailers tested (36%).
The results varied significantly by the category of retailer:
- 18 of 54 vape shops, or one third, requested ID
- 2 of 6 franchised retailers requested ID
- 1 of 7 convenience shops requested ID
- 6 of 6 of the major supermarkets asked to see ID
As might be expected, the supermarket chains strictly applied age checks, with all six requesting to see ID and subsequently refusing the sale when ID was not presented.
The performance of the vape shops was poor, with just one third requesting to see an ID. Notably, the vape shop being part of a chain did not increase the likelihood of an ID check being carried out.
Just two of six franchised retailers requested to see ID. This is surprising given that procedures such as age verification are typically set centrally and franchisees are required to follow them.
The lowest rate of application of an age verification check was among independent convenience shops, with just 1 of 7 requesting the mystery shoppers produce ID.
What Happened When Shoppers Could Not Provide ID?
Of the 27 retailers that asked to see ID, 26 refused the sale when the shopper could not provide it. However, one vape shop proceeded with the sale despite the shopper not presenting the requested ID.
The sale of nicotine containing vapes to under 18s has been prohibited since 2015. The penalties for underage sales are £200 fixed penalty notice or potentially a fine of up to £2,500 if convicted in court.
The fixed penalty notice can be reduced to £100 if paid within 14 days. The low proportion of retailers carrying out age verification suggests that the current penalties for underage sales may not be providing a sufficient deterrent.
Feedback From the Mystery Shoppers
“The sale was refused as the staff member remarked that I "look really young." - Mystery Shopper, Vape Shop, Birmingham
“I was asked for ID, and I did not present any. I was then refused the vape product and was explained it was due to “challenge 25.” - Mystery Shopper, Supermarket, London
“I was asked for ID after the purchase and explained I didn’t have it, so they told me not to worry.” - Mystery Shopper, Vape Shop, Manchester
What the Results Tell Us
It is clear that there are serious gaps in how age verification is applied across the alternative nicotine product market.
The weak age verification processes evident in the physical retail environment are very concerning. The convenience shops, franchised retailers, and vape shops tested in the project all had low rates of application of age verification checks.
They also had very poor compliance rates with legal obligations to provide a take-back service, and a significant portion had no visible 18+ signage. These results will be published separately.
In the online environment, across a range of categories of retailers, age verification processes were found to be typically more robust. You can view the results here.
The Tobacco and Vapes Act will introduce a new regulatory framework for the retail of nicotine products, but a new framework alone will not be sufficient to create an effectively regulated and compliant market.
Haypp’s Approach to Responsible Retail
Regulation is only effective when underpinned by robust and consistent enforcement. Haypp believes that four further elements could be introduced in legislation to help create a more responsible retail environment.
To create a more responsible and effectively regulated retail environment for nicotine products, Haypp recommends the following:
- Recognising specialist vape shops as a distinct category of retailer.
- Introducing stronger penalties for non-compliance.
- Establishing a UK-style Bibob model.
- Setting high standards for age-verification processes.
A more responsible retail environment will build trust amongst consumers and level the playing field for responsible retailers, while supporting the UK’s progress towards a smoke-free future.
