October 28, 2020
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Cannabiz Media’s research team has completed its third consecutive year of primary and secondary research tracking point of sale software market share in the cannabis industry.
The 2020 Point of Sale Software in the Cannabis Industry report is now available for free download here.
As in previous point of sale (POS) software research, Cannabiz Media used a convenience sampling method to collect 2020 data from 2,146 of the 7,081 active dispensaries and retailers nationwide, which we estimate to represent 34% of the market.
In total, Cannabiz Media placed 14,232 phone calls to survey dispensaries and retailers across the country. Additionally, email questionnaires were sent to gather supplemental data.
The 2020 Point of Sale Software in the Cannabis Industry report provides all of the detailed findings from the comprehensive research effort. Cannabiz Media will continue its research and update POS data available in the enhanced data feature within the Cannabiz Media License Database.
After a significant jump in vendor count in 2019, the number of point of sale software vendors in the cannabis industry remained flat in 2020. There are still 68 unique point of sale vendors providing software used by license holders in the United States as reported by the active license holders we surveyed.
However, some of the players have changed. For example, 13 new POS vendors entered the market while 13 others left the market.
In 2019, the top five POS vendors accounted for 68% of the overall market. In 2020, that percentage dropped to 66%.
Green Bits has climbed to the top of the market share leaderboard moving from second place in 2019 behind BioTrack to first place in 2020. BioTrack slipped to second place while Flowhub, MJ Freeway, and Indica Online ranked third, fourth, and fifth, respectively, in both 2019 and 2020.
The top 10 POS vendors have lost collective market share to smaller players over the past year. In 2019, the top 10 vendors accounted for 84% of the market (down from 93% in 2018), but in 2020, the top 10 vendors accounted for 80% of the market.
Another interesting finding the research uncovered is the difference in market share between medical-only states and adult-use states. In medical-only states, BioTrack is the market share leader (21.1%) followed by MJ Freeway (18.2%), and Indica Online (8.5%).
Looking at adult-use states, Green Bits is the market share leader with 29.5% of the market in 2020 (up from 28% in 2019) followed by BioTrack (19.5%; down from 20.8% in 2019), and Flowhub (13.3%).
This year, Cannabiz Media began to track which license holders switched their POS vendors since the prior year. While we can’t comment as to whether or not the changes are positive or negative from previous years, we do think it’s interesting to see which vendors gained and lost as well as the states where switching occurred.
All of this information is outlined in detail in the white paper report based on which states had vendor switching and which POS vendors gained and lost customers. For example, the highest number of license holders switched to Green Bits (21), but 15 license holders switched away from Green Bits bringing a net gain from switching of six.
The largest net gain in customers from switching occurred for Leaflogix. In total 13 license holders switched to LeafLogix and three switched away from Leaflogix for a net gain of 10 customers. On the other hand, the highest number of license holders who participated in our study switched away from BioTrack (29) while no license holders reported switching to BioTrack.
Download the full Point of Sale Software in the Cannabis Industry: 2020 Report to get all of the data and insights, including:
Listen to the report author, Ed Keating, discuss the data and insights with fellow Cannabiz Media team member, Amanda Guerrero, and NCIA in the Industry Essentials webinar.
If you have any questions about the white paper, point of sale software vendor data, or cannabis license holder data, contact the Cannabiz Media Team.
And don’t forget that all of the data in this report (and much more) is available to subscribers in the Cannabiz Media License Database. Schedule a free demo to see it in action.
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