Leading the first wave of mainstream cannabis acceptance and consumption, CBD products are transforming the wellness marketplace – creating huge opportunities and challenges for retailers.

In a panel at the National Retail Federation (NRF) annual conference, GfK’s Rachel Bonsignore (Senior Consultant, Consumer Life) will share new findings on the size and direction of the CBD market, the forces contributing to its growth, and how consumers feel about this exploding product category.

The panel – which will also feature experts from The Vitamin Shoppe, Green Growth Brands, and Jefferies – will take place on January 12th from 2 to 2:30PM at New York’s Jacob Javits Center. The conference itself, known as NRF 2020 Vision, will run from the 12th through the 14th.

Bonsignore will also take part in the Consumer Outlook 2020 lunch panel on Tuesday at 12 noon in the Press Room (1A 04, Level 1)

Recent research from MRI-Simmons – a division of GfK – shows that 32 million US consumers (ages 18 and up) have used a CBD product in the past month; this represents 13% of all US adults. Almost 9 in 10 (86%) CBD users believe that it has been beneficial to their health – and 91% feel CBD is a healthier option than alcohol.

Click here to read a recent MRI-Simmons blog post on CBD consumption.

GfK Consumer Life ascribes the huge popularity of CBD products to three major forces in consumers’ lives:
• The desire for protection from threats of all kinds
• The search for greater control over their lives
• The goal of preventing illnesses before they become serious

The panel at NRF 2020 will consider CBD’s implications for retailers of all kinds. As the CBD trend gains momentum, stores are struggling to integrate this relatively new product category. Beauty departments were natural early adopters, but now outlets of all kinds – from apparel retailers to yoga studios – are trying to ride the CBD wave. The panel will discuss which CBD products are right for different types of stores, how to get started, and what is trending.

Bonsignore is a lead consultant on consumer trends partnerships with brands, providing actionable and future-focused insights on the consumer landscape, covering categories like media, retail, CPG, food, and apparel. She has over 13 years of experience in market research, spanning disciplines from corporate communications to brand strategy to consumer trends.

Earlier this year, GfK and the NRF partnered on a study of personalization co-authored by Bonsignore and GfK’s Joe Beier; the researchers presented on the topic at the NRF NXT conference in July and published an ebook that was heavily promoted by the NRF.