Can you name you’re favorite strain? You would think that experienced consumers could rattle names off the top of their head. A new study shows that 64% of consumers couldn’t tell you what they are smoking and nearly 45% couldn’t tell you their favorite strain.
The data, published by cannabis customer experts High Yield Insights, focused on users who prefer smoking and vaping formats. Of the few who do report a favorite, only a small percentage managed to identify a strain by name. GG4 and OG Kush, two popular strains, were called out by a minority of respondents while others could only manage “indica” or “sativa” when asked.
Limited recall for a favorite strain of flower or oil is not dissimilar from the lack of brand loyalty among edibles users. In previous research published by High Yield Insights, only 44 percent of consumers who preferred edibles could name their favorite brand.
“In general, cannabis users just don’t have the level of loyalty or commitment you might expect,” said Mike Luce, cofounder of High Yield Insights. “This is true across the board even among regular users, of whom nearly a third couldn’t name a go-to strain. Strains are important to users but not how you might guess. The booming market, combined with the nature of the supply chain and variable product availability, creates too much distraction for users to gravitate to a favorite. As the market matures, users will come to expect a consistent and reliable product experience. That’s why we’re seeing a shift toward communicating effects, such as relaxation or focus, particularly in vaping. Our insights on the customer mindset paired with test results from the scientific community underline an uncomfortable truth: strain names are increasingly meaningless. The industry needs to hit reset on what’s being delivered to customers.”
The High Yield Insights’ Smoking & Vaping report delivers intelligence on consumer and product trends based on exclusive data gathered from consumers who prefer these specific formats. By limiting results only to current users in legal states, the findings best represent the mindset of today’s cannabis consumer. In addition to preferences on products, flavors, and forms, High Yield Insights uncovered valuable insights on the unique demographics of smoking and vaping consumers, enabling companies to target specific customer segments such as such as self-identified medical users and returning cannabis customers.
High Yield Insights will explore additional cannabis product categories in an upcoming report on Topicals to be published later in 2018. The reports are part of a first-ever insights series focused on cannabis consumer mindset, behaviors and preferences, including a look at recreational or adult use consumers, medical marijuana patients and consumers who prefer edibles. For more information on the full series, visit www.highyieldinsights.com.