Millennials And Gen Xers Account For Over Two-Thirds Of U.S. CBD Users, Data Firm Says

America’s younger generations of adults are driving the country’s CBD market because they’re more knowledgeable about products and feel more comfortable using them.

That’s according to new market research from Chicago-based cannabis analytics firm Brightfield Group, which found millennials, born between 1981 and 1994, and Gen Xers, born between 1965 and 1980 account for 71 percent of CBD users. The eight-page report also found millennials take more doses per day than Gen Xers.

As the fledgling CBD industry has yet to make a consistent advertising presence through modern ways of mass communication – like TV, online streaming, radio, and digital media – word of mouth is the top way in which members of both generations learn about CBD, the report said. Millennials also learn about the plant from social media, looking through stores or talking to a budtender. Gen Xers generally learn about CBD from more traditional sources like doctors, the news or print and TV ads.

Brightfield said 18 percent of all consumers not using CBD today are skeptical only because they don’t know enough the products. Of that 18 percent, the majority are Baby Boomers, born between 1946 and 1964. The answer, the firm claimed, is first to debunk misconceptions that people who grew up being told about the negative properties of cannabis and hemp have. That can come through advertising, but especially by making education about cannabis-related products more widespread and readily available.

“There’s so much to learn about CBD product types and their different uses,” a Brightfield spokeswoman said. “Education is key in helping people realize how to be deliberate in selecting the right CBD products for their specific needs.”

The report also analyzed the massive growth and subsequent correction in the CBD industry, which ballooned over 500 percent in 2019 but came back to Earth in 2020. Brightfield said the CBD industry lost more than 1,000 brands last year. Some were consolidated while others dissolved completely. The industry has rebounded somewhat through the first half of 2021 as consumer spending power has increased in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.