CHICAGO — One thing is for certain: When it comes to customers, convenience stores have theirs pegged. But do operators truly understand that customer who comes into their stores to purchase CBD products?
Today’s CBD customer might surprise you. They are young and old, more male than female, single and childless. And according to research from CSP sister company Technomic, many are looking to alleviate their sleep issues or anxiety.
Here is a hard look at this niche customer, from purchase frequency to the most popular forms they buy and everything in between, with insights from Technomic Inc., Chicago; MSA (Management Science Associates), Pittsburgh; and BDSA, Boulder, Colo. While reading, keep in mind that some data might not align with information from those interviewed, who are sharing their own firsthand observations.
Two Main Groups
The marketing manager: There are two big groups of CBD consumers, and for different reasons, says Michael Tirey, a marketing manager at Circle K in New Port Richey, Fla. There is the 18-to-34 group, which knows more about hemp in general than older consumers, and those 55-plus, “who are looking for something for pain relief, helping them sleep, that type of thing,” he says.
The younger group is “looking more for stress relief,” he says. “Usually, they’re being pushed a little more in their jobs or pushing themselves harder in their jobs because they’re trying to get ahead. Plus, COVID didn’t help. … It really did cause a lot more stress in particular age groups.”
However, Tirey adds, “When you are talking about the 55-plus group, we pretty much know how to work a lot more by ourselves and don’t need the social interaction per se that the younger age group does, which causes a lot of angst. … You are seeing a lot more of them using it for that particular reason, for stress.”
“We just threw it out there and haven’t really had any issues.”
The director of marketing and business development: “You would think CBD would appeal to more of the younger crowd, that 18-30 demographic, but you’d be surprised how many 40 to 60 you see, and even beyond that, purchasing the product,” says Jon Bunch, director of marketing and business development at Huck’s, Carmi, Ill., which has locations in five Midwestern states.
The 60-plus age range, he says, “don’t want to get high. They just want to make their knuckles feel better without getting high. So, if you have a package that looks like it can be sold at that dispensary over there, they’re going to stay away from it.”
Education
The deputy director: For a lot of consumers, a c-store is the first place they will see CBD products, says Yael Ossowski, deputy director of the Consumer Choice Center, Washington, D.C. This low-key introduction destigmatizes CBD because c-stores carry “normal, average” products, he says, and consumers can see CBD isn’t “like the illicit products they warn us about all the time.”
“Whether it be prominent at the register, or its own turnstile, that in a way is [the] first introduction to many consumers, and with that, if there’s good signage, educational materials, good branding, that is something that could actually appeal to more people,” Ossowski says.
This is why his group has strongly advocated for strong brand protections, Ossowski says. Consumers need to be informed about CBD products, their potency, whether they’ve been tested, and their differences, so they know what they’re buying.
The marketing manager: Those who buy online already know about hemp-related CBD, Tirey says.
“Education is No. 1 because most consumers just don’t know about CBD. They think it still has THC. That is illegal, that will get you high, and you will fail a drug test. They do not understand that CBD is not related to THC; you might have some of the stuff that has up to 0.3%, but it is not enough psychoactive ingredients to do anything for you like that or fail a drug test, so education really is key when it comes to consumers in stores.”
Every retailer should have information for customers about the products they sell and should educate their employees to be able to speak intelligently about the products. “Because if they don’t, you’ll never get that consumer to try the products or buy out of a particular store,” Tirey explains.
“We go for more packaging and appeal to nutritional and supplement.”
Points of Sale
The director of marketing and business development: Bunch thinks most convenience-store CBD-product sales are not impulsive in nature but rather destination-driven. “In Illinois, you might visit a dispensary or vape shops and other places that sell CBD,” he says. “But I believe our stores, especially in our higher-volume CBD stores, are the destination point.”
Bunch says he’s researched the CBD market near their headquarters in Carmi, Ill., and other Huck’s locations, and he has found competition: vape shops, smoke shops and other c-stores. “But our sales are higher,” he says, adding he has found Huck’s is the primary store for CBD buyers in many locations.
Why? “First to the street,” he says, explaining that in the first year of CBD being legal, he made the decision to roll it out to all 122 Huck’s stores at once, opting against a slow rollout or test.
“We put it on the counter and said, ‘We’ll see what happens.’ If it doesn’t work, we take it out,” he says. “We just threw it out there and haven’t really had any issues. We don’t want to offend our customers, but you’d be surprised; it doesn’t really offend many people, and we’re Bible Belt, too. So, you have to be really careful around these parts.”
“Education is No. 1 because most consumers just don’t know about CBD. They think it still has THC. That is illegal, that will get you high, and you will fail a drug test.”
The deputy director: “Most people are still going to these small pop-up stores that sell these products,” says Ossowski of the Consumer Choice Center. “It’s very similar to the vape-store phenomenon in that you have these independent entrepreneurs who used vaping themselves and found it was very helpful and thought other people could also benefit. I think that’s definitely where people get first exposure.”
The market has greatly improved at convenience stores, gas stations and elsewhere as products and signage have improved, he adds.
“Across North Carolina, which is what I’m most familiar with, seeing it at large truck stops and elsewhere, besides the 5-hour Energy and whatever, you also have CBD products with good leaflets and information,” Ossowski says. “Sort of secondhand, you are getting a small consumer base that’s growing there that otherwise would not have heard of this [and] definitely would not have popped their head into a CBD retailer store.”
Packaging
The director of marketing and business development: “I try to stay away from packaging that kind of gives that stoner look,” says Bunch of Huck’s. “We go for more packaging and appeal to nutritional and supplement. A lot of people are using it for relaxation, anxiety, pain relief, and we don’t cater to the ‘Hey, let’s get high crowd.’ It’s kind of the health- and beauty-aids crowd.”
He also sees incremental sales come from delivery methods. While Huck’s sells CBD in forms including vape, edible, topical and water soluble, “what you might see is someone who buys gummies all the time. They’ll get their gummies,” Bunch says, “and then they’ll try the droplet, too.”
Sales appeal relies heavily on packaging, he adds. “We have to keep good, clean labeling and not get too loud with it, and keep it on the GNC level of product and look. I think that appeals to everyone.”