What Shoppers Are Clicking Suggests Disposable Vapes May Have Peaked, New Search Analysis Finds

Disposable vapes have spent five years as the runaway story of the US nicotine market. New analysis of what Americans are actually typing into search engines suggests the next chapter may look different.

According to a study of US search demand by Discount Vape Pen, an online vaping store based in New Jersey that specializes in refillable 510-thread cartridge batteries and other vaping supplies, the search term "510 thread battery" now draws around 30,500 clicks a month, narrowly ahead of "disposable vape" at roughly 29,500. The reusable term is up about 20% since 2021, while disposable searches have slipped around 36% from their 2022 high. The gap between the two has closed fast: in 2022 Americans searched for disposables about 2.4 times as often as for 510-thread batteries, a ratio that had compressed to about 1.46 to one by 2025.

"What people click on is a leading indicator of what they are about to buy, and right now that signal is moving toward reusable hardware," said Marc Pitts, co-founder of Discount Vape Pen. "The sales charts still show disposables on top, but search behavior usually turns first. We think this is the early stage of a switch back to refillable systems."

The retail picture is exactly why the search trend stands out. Disposables became the dominant device type on the strength of convenience and cheap shelf prices, and surveillance data published in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report has found them to be the most commonly used format among young people who vape. That scale pushed enormous volumes through the market and made disposables the face of the category. Trade coverage from outlets including Reuters has tracked the same boom, alongside the mounting electronic waste that comes with it.

A leading indicator is not a finished trend, and Pitts is the first to say so. Sales remain firmly in the disposable column, and a shift in what people search for does not guarantee a shift in what they buy. But search demand has a habit of arriving before the receipts catch up, and this particular signal has been building for several years rather than a single quarter.

For a market that has been defined by throwaway devices, the more interesting question is what a turn toward durable hardware would look like for shoppers. Reusable systems reward the buyer who wants to choose a battery, pair it with the cartridges they prefer, and keep the same device running for months. It is a quieter kind of purchase than grabbing a disposable at the counter, and it points to a more considered, less throwaway few years ahead.

"The register is a lagging indicator. Search is a leading one," Pitts said. "And right now it is pointing somewhere disposables are not."