COVID-19 Is Changing Consumer Trends, And Cannabis Marketing Plans Need To Adapt

Convenience always plays a big factor in determining customer purchase trends, and before the coronavirus, convenience in cannabis was defined by proximity. Based on Surfside’s consumer insights and location data, we discovered that 95% of cannabis consumers chose their dispensary based on proximity to their home or place of work.

With stay-at-home orders in place, the majority of consumers are mandated to only leave their home for essential purchases, which has led to a decrease in commercial visitation by 46%. Dispensaries, which in many states have been deemed essential businesses, have actually seen a net increase in foot traffic of 18%, but consumer preference still heavily leans towards online shopping over in-store or curbside pick-up.

Now, as consumers self-quarantine and proactively limit their in-store shopping activities, convenience has been redefined as the ability to order online for at-home delivery. Many legal markets previously restricted online ordering and delivery of cannabis, but as a result of the health crisis, state and federal regulators have adjusted compliance guidelines to allow for delivery and curbside pickup.

This rapid adoption of e-commerce across the cannabis industry has led to an average increase of 43% in online orders across multiple recreational and medical states. This represents a brand new medium for many dispensary operators, and even brands, to be able to capitalize on a new purchase channel previously limited or not allowed to many businesses.

COVID-19 is not changing consumer trends in a direction that the industry did not already see coming, it is just accelerating the path towards a lower touch purchase journey via e-commerce. In order to prepare and adapt to these changing consumer trends, it is important to re-evaluate your marketing plans and how you are identifying and reaching your consumers:

1. Expand the reach of your targeting – Delivery opens up your business to a wider audience of potential consumers who may not have considered your dispensary because a competing dispensary was more conveniently located.

2. Retain existing customers – Utilize your internal CRM, customer data and historic foot traffic data to convert and educate your existing customers to your e-commerce offering.

• Creating a positive and personalized experience based on customer preferences, leads to increased basket sizes and higher order volumes.

3. Focus on digital – Smartphone usage is up 60%, as are other digital mediums like over-the-top and desktop. Make sure to interact with customers where they spend their time, and also on mediums that can be directly attributed to online sales for measurement and optimization purposes.

For the full Surfside COVID-19 Trends & Best Practices and additional information on how we can work together, click here or contact us at hello@surfside.io

Leer en Español: Marihuana y COVID-19: 3 Maneras de Compartir Cannabis sin Transmitir el Coronavirus