WASHINGTON —
New Frontier Data, the leader in actionable cannabis data and business intelligence, releases Cannabis Consumers in America, Part 2: Exploring the Archetypes. The report details nine distinct cannabis consumer archetypes, including their behaviors, preferences, and circumstances, as well as changes since 2022. The nine archetypes fall into four categories:
- Extremely frequent consumers: Savvy Connoisseurs (13%)
- Very frequent consumers: Contemporary Lifestylers (16%), Medical Lifestylers (12%), Legacy Lifestylers (13%)
- Moderate consumers: Modern Medicinals (12%), Engaged Explorers (9%)
- Infrequent consumers: Social Nibblers (8%), Holistic Healers (6%), Infrequent Partakers (11%)
“As the cannabis industry continues its efforts to deliver a safe and enjoyable consumer experience and transition more consumers from the illicit market, retailers and brands must have a clear understanding of the cannabis consumers they seek to engage,” said Gary Allen, New Frontier Data CEO. “The nine distinct consumer archetypes detailed in this report provide a roadmap for delivering the experience each group desires, helping ensure they remain a part of the legal market moving forward.”
Key takeaways from the report include:
- Most cannabis consumers are regular, daily users who prefer smoking, but edible consumption is increasing while more traditional methods (blunts, hand pipes) are decreasing. As products like fast-acting edibles continue to emerge, traditional methods of consumption like smoking may continue to decrease even among the highest-consuming archetypes.
- The mainstreaming of cannabis will likely have the greatest impact on the emergence of archetypes like Modern Medicinals and Holistic Healers who may overcome the continuing stigma of cannabis after more accepted medical treatments do not work.
- In the near term, Legacy Lifestylers will continue to morph into Contemporary and Medical Lifestylers as more legal markets come online depending on whether their consumption goals are medical or recreational. Longer term, those consumers may find –after exposure to a broader range of product forms in a legal market–they prefer non-combustible options and could evolve into one of the archetypes that prefers non-flower, like Engaged Explorers or Modern Medicinals.
- The reduction in number of Savvy Connoisseurs from 2022 to 2023 (18% to 13%) may be reflective of consumers in newly legal markets settling into their own consumption habits. Rather than feel the need to try a variety of new products, they have figured out what they like and are creating a routine.
Cannabis Consumers in America, Part 2: Exploring the Archetypes contains many more details and findings on cannabis use frequency, product form preferences, reasons for use, methods of sourcing cannabis, and demographics like age and gender for each consumer archetype. Download a complimentary copy at: info.newfrontierdata.com/cannabis-consumers-in-america-2023-part-2
About New Frontier Data
New Frontier Data is the premier data, analytics and technology firm specializing in the global cannabis industry, delivering solutions that enable investors, operators, advertisers, brands, researchers and policy makers to assess, understand, engage and transact with the cannabis industry and its consumers.
Our mission is to inform policy and commercial activity for the global legal cannabis industry. We maintain a neutral position on the merits of cannabis legalization through comprehensive and transparent data analysis and projections that shape industry trends, dynamics, demand and opportunity drivers. Founded in 2014, New Frontier Data is headquartered in Washington, D.C. with a presence in Europe, Latin America and Africa. For more information about New Frontier Data, please visit us at www.NewFrontierData.com.
