Segmentation is the process of dividing a population into smaller groups in order to understand variations within the group.
The cannabis industry is at a critical stage in its development. With so many players in the space, it’s more important than ever to have a strong understanding of your customer base to ensure you are marketing your products in the right way.
In this post, we outline five cannabis customer segmentation solutions you can use to best market your products and services.
5 Consumer Segments
As of 2021, 36 states and the District of Columbia have legalized cannabis for either medical or recreational use.
More and more Americans are experimenting with cannabis and using it on a regular basis.
Cannabis users are not all young adults, as they also include people who are middle-aged and older. The following are consumers of cannabis segmented into 5 groups.
The Recreationist
These consumers use cannabis for recreational purposes. This group is largely in favor of legalizing cannabis for recreational as well as medical use. They generally use cannabis by smoking through a joint, pipe, or bong.
The largest age group in this segment is 18-29 years old, followed by 50-64 years old, 30-49 years old, and the smallest is 65 years above.
The Party Goer
The Party Goer segment are recreational users who typically only use cannabis in pot parties. They have no compulsion to use the drug and are also infrequent users. They consume a small amount only and only in social situations.
The majority of consumers in this segment are college students under 21 years of age.
This group is open to the full legalization of cannabis and they are mostly in favor of legalizing the drug.
The Medically Ill
Cannabis users from this group only use the drug for medical purposes. They are ambivalent about the full legalization of cannabis but most of them oppose the idea.
The largest age group in this segment are elderly people 60 years above who are also mostly first-time users.
The Medically Reluctant
The Medically Reluctant segment are medical users of cannabis and are reluctant users, though they may consume cannabis more regularly and even daily. They are also largely against the full legalization of cannabis.
As with the Medically Ill segment, the Medically Reluctant uses cannabis more topically as a lotion rather than by smoking or ingesting it as edibles.
The Advocate
This segment is composed of people who are liberal users of cannabis and who are advocates of the legalization of cannabis for both medical and recreational use. They like to educate people on the benefits of the drug.
They like to cite research that supports their position and some of them are members of the scientific community.
They come from all age groups but the majority of advocates are young adults. They commonly obtain their cannabis through a friend or family member, as opposed to those in other segments above who mostly go to medical or adult-use dispensaries.
Dispensaries, Retailers & Manufacturers Need Cannabis Customer Segmentation Research
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