Who Are the CBD Market’s Best Customers Going Forward?

By William Sumner, Hemp Content Manager, New Frontier Data

The market for cannabidiol (CBD) represents a vital and expanding segment in the legal cannabis industry. As New Frontier Data details in the first volume of a new CBD-specific series, U.S. CBD Consumer Report: Archetypes and Preferences, while nearly 1 in 5 (18%) of Americans have tried CBD, those numbers climb to nearly 3 in 10 (29%) who expect to buy some within the next six months.

Through market research conducted in partnership with the payments-processor firm Square, the report surveys more than 4,000 consumers about variety of CBD-related subjects such as attitudes, spending habits, and decision influencers.

Consumer Archetypes

Based on the survey responses, the report identifies five key consumer archetypes. They include:

Integrative and Consistent: Comprising roughly 34% of CBD consumers, this group represents moderate spenders who are experienced CBD users and believe in its benefits.

Receptive and Reserved: Typically not connected with other CBD users, it is a cohort of believers in its benefits, but who typically spend little on CBD. They make up around 24% of CBD consumers.

Ambivalent and Experimental: Consumers who fall into this archetype lack enthusiasm about CBD, and may likely have quit using it altogether. As a group, they account for approximately 23% of CBD users.

Skeptical and Limited: Accounting for 13% of the consumer maker, these moderate spends are skeptical about some of the purported benefits of CBD, but they nonetheless use CBD to help treat conditions like pain.

Exuberant and Intensive: Highly enthusiastic consumers who frequently use CBD and spend more on average than do their counterparts, the market’s most welcome archetype makes up about 6% of the market.

Nonconsumer Archetypes

In addition to consumers, the report also identifies four key nonconsumer archetypes, representing:

Knowledgeable and Primed: In a segment of people who know about CBD and are the most likely to try it in the future, it is a key target making up one-third (33%) of nonconsumers.

Unaware and Uninterested: Around 27% of nonconsumers lack information about CBD, and reflect little interest in the substance.

Informed and Indifferent: Nearly one-quarter (23%) of nonconsumers feel that they know enough about CBD, but through whatever impressions decided that CBD is not for them.

Cautious and Curious: Fewer than 1 in 5 (17%) of nonconsumers have an interest in CBD while maintaining some reservations about it.

Key Takeaways

Approximately 9 among 10 Americans have heard about CBD; among those people, about three-quarters (73%) reported having shared conversations about it, most of them positively. Indeed, some 55% of respondents report interest in buying CBD.

As the U.S. CBD consumer market continues to mature, brands looking to capture new consumers will seek further insights and firm understanding about them as detailed among the consumer archetypes profiled. For an introduction to inflection points throughout the industry space, visit New Frontier Data’s proprietary research repository to sample or download the full report via Equio: The Cannabis Business Intelligence Portal.