Premium cigars are typically not an impulse buy. Whether your customer is a connoisseur or a new cigar smoker, all of their senses are in play when they make their choice of what to buy and where to buy it from. Presenting and protecting your premium cigars–an investment of time and money in the best possible way–while maintaining your humidor with high, consistent standards, and having a knowledgeable, well-trained staff on hand will ensure your store will be a cigar customer’s go-to place.
Put yourself in your customers’ shoes. Why do you smoke a premium cigar? Where do you smoke a premium cigar? Premium cigars bring a sense of relaxation and can be a treat at the end of the day. They are also a celebration and a reward for a victory! Each occasion a cigar is enjoyed in is a sensory experience.
Here are some tips for how to setup your humidor so that customers have the best experience possible when searching for that well-earned cigar:
Keep it Clean. Stand back and look at your humidor’s entrance. Is it clean? Is it classy? Is it approachable? Do you display accessories near the entrance so they are visible? The easier it is for your customers to see what your store offers, the more likely they are to buy the little extras or upgrades that are part of the cigar-smoking experience.
Organize Your Humidor. Once in the humidor, how are your cigars presented? Shelves should be cleaned regularly to prevent tackiness and mold. Fixtures in your humidor should only be cleaned with water. Any cleaner with a scent will transfer to your cigars, which can spell disaster if your customer tastes any residue chemical in their cigar! Distilled water is the only thing to use in your humidifiers–a white film from tap water is not appealing.
Are your boxes neatly arranged, and are the sticks presented consistently? We display cigars left-justified in the box or with the band to the left if they are horizontally displayed. A box of cigars that is messy quickly loses appeal. A humidor full of them is chaotic and will encourage your customer to hurry to leave the chaos. A box of cigars that appears well cared for will build customer confidence that their purchase will satisfy their reason for the purchase.
Are your cigars clearly and consistently marked and priced? Are the brands together? Not all customers will know one line from another if they are looking for a particular maker. Presenting your premium cigars from the most expensive stick you offer to the least costly bundle in a humidor invokes all your customers’ senses. Taking this approach will help spark an emotional connection within your customers toward your store’s products. They will remember where they got that particular stick for that special occasion, and it will bring them back for their future purchases.
Maintain Humidity Levels. Does your humidor door close tightly so humidity levels can be maintained? Is the humidity level and temperature consistent and correct? Maintaining any humidor in the arid high desert region of central Arizona is a challenge. To keep our walk-in at its best requires constant monitoring and adjustments to maintain an environment where our cigars are at their best. Outdoor temperatures can range from below zero to over 100 degrees, and humidity can fluctuate from percentages in the teens to ninety percent. Our practices of monitoring and adjusting based on the time of year, anticipated foot traffic, and weather forecasts help us keep our investments at their best.
Maintaining all aspects of your premium cigar presentation and paying attention to the minor details lets your customers know that when they purchase their premium cigars from your store, they will experience a cigar that is everything the maker intended it to be.
– This article first appeared in the 2025 edition of the PCA Almanac. Article contributed by Mary Matli, operations manager at Smoke’m Prescott Valley in Arizona. Learn more about her store at http://www.smokempv.com.