The Cannabis Consumer Ecosystem
Everything starts and ends with the cannabis consumer & their ecosystem shown above. Marijuana consumers do not exist in a vacuum. There are a host of factors within this ecosystem that businesses must consider to understand and address the needs of this ever-growing group of consumers.
Established Industries
Consumer packaged goods, pharmaceuticals, and more...
These industries with established sales of more than $5 trillion can be disrupted by the marijuana industry.
As part of the consumer ecosystem, legalized cannabis affects non-cannabis product and service providers, too. Measuring how recreational and medicinal cannabis will change consumer spending away from home and the consumption of other products is key to understanding how your consumer-base may impacted by the marijuana industry.
Retailers
There are two fundamental ways to improve business:
- 1. Capture more of the existing market.
- 2. Grow the untapped market.
For existing cannabis businesses, a two-prong approach is integral to success within the consumer ecosystem. Marijuana retailers need to not only worry about converting new category users, they must also focus on capturing unsatisfied users from competitors within their immediate and future trade-areas.