Thanks to the nature of cannabis purchasing, dispensary operators have a significant amount of data on their customers. From what they like to purchase, to how often they purchase, to how much they purchase. The issue, therefore, isn't the lack of data, but rather the need for data that is easy to use, easy to act on, and is directly tied to growth.
While former systems siloed data and insights, which requires tedious manual workflows to extract insights and findings from the data, Sweed has built a connected system that streamlines findings into actionable insights that allow operators to work quickly and efficiently.
That’s why with Sweed, RFM (Recency, Frequency, Monetary) segmentation is built directly into the platform, giving operators a clear view of their customer base, connected with the ability to activate campaigns in just a few clicks. Here’s how it works.
RFM Segmentation with Sweed
Segments are created in Sweed through a dedicated RFM key that categorizes customers into 10 customer groups depending on how often, how much, and how recently the customer has purchased with your business.
Sweed analyses customer data that is specific to the retailer, so that each segment is unique to your specific customers and their preferences. These customers are then broken into 10 distinct RFM segments, which helps operators know exactly who their most valuable customers are, who’s at risk of leaving, and where the greatest opportunities for growth lie, while giving them the tools to act on these insights. The 10 RFM segment groups are:
- Champions: Your best customers who buy often, spend a lot, and have purchased very recently.
- Can’t Lose: Former high-value customers who haven’t purchased in a while.
- Loyal Customers: Repeat buyers with regular purchases and solid spend.
- At Risk: Previously active customers showing signs of inactivity.
- First-Time, Recent Buyers: New customers who just made a small first purchase.
- Early-Stage Buyers: New customers who bought recently but haven’t purchased much yet.
- High-Value Occasionals: Infrequent buyers who spend big when they do purchase.
- Potential Loyalists: Engagement is rising – likely to become loyal with the right nudge.
- About to Sleep: Fading activity, may stop buying soon.
- Rare Buyers: Inactive customers who purchase rarely and spend very little.
Each of these groups can be targeted with tailored campaigns and workflows inside Sweed, allowing you to engage with them when and how is the most effective. Hovering over any group gives you a quick description, so you and your team always know exactly who you’re targeting. No spreadsheets, no guesswork.
Segments flow directly into workflows and campaigns. Here are some examples of what this tool enables dispensary teams to do with the click of a few buttons:
- Send exclusive offers to Champions.
- Trigger win-back messages for Can’t Lose.
- Automate loyalty nudges for Potential Loyalists.
- Run reactivation campaigns for About to Sleep.
RFM segmentation isn’t just visible in Sweed, it’s actionable.
How Sweed Calculates RFM Segments
Sweed takes on the heavy lifting behind the scenes, so that everything is built-out and ready to go, allowing your teams to feel confident in their tools, without having to go through the process of cumbersome, manual workflows and processes that leave businesses vulnerable to human error and risk. Here’s the simple version of how it works:
1. Set the Reference Data
Sweed uses the most recent purchase data in your dataset as the baseline for Recency, typically across a 360-day lookback window.
2. Aggregate Data at the Buyer Level
Recency = days since last purchase
Frequency = number of purchases
Monetary = total spend
3. Normalize the Scores
Each metric is scaled from 1-5 using quantile binning.
- Fewer days = higher Recency score.
- More purchases = higher Frequency score.
- Higher spend = higher Monetary score.
4. Form the RFM Code
Each customer receives a three-digit code based on how they’re rated in each category (e.g., 545)
5. Assign Segments with Predefined Rules
RFM codes are matched against patterns that define each of the 10 segments. For example:
- Champions: R=5, F=4-5, M=4-5
- Can’t Lose: R=1-2, F=5, M=4-5
- Loyal Customers: R=3-4, F=4-5, M=3-5
Customers who don’t fit any defined rule are excluded from RFM reporting.
6. Output in Sweed
Every customer is labeled with their Recency, Frequency, Monetary score, and most importantly, their assigned segment.
Why This Matters for Cannabis Retail
While some platforms give you the data to manually put together RFM segmentation, Sweed makes it part of your growth engine:
- Unified Tech: One platform for POS, eCommerce, marketing, loyalty, and compliance. No stitching tools together.
- AI-Powered, Data-Strong: A single data layer captures every customer action, ensuring segmentation is always up-to-date.
- Marketing That Performs: Precision orchestration across SMS, email, and push means every segment gets the right message at the right time.
- Experience-Obsessed: Personalized campaigns flow directly into the customer journey, both in-store and online.
- Built for Operators: Segments are created automatically, with simple workflows for your team.
This is how Sweed powers dispensary growth, moving customers from First-Time Buyers to Champions, keeping At Risk customers engaged, and maximizing lifetime value at every stage.
The Bottom Line
Sweed simplifies RFM segmentation for operators, ensuring they’re successful every time. With built-in, dynamic insights that are connected directly to the tools needed to act on findings, operators can feel confident in their campaigns and workflows.
Instead of chasing data, spending hours manually reviewing data, or juggling tools, operators can focus on what really matters – engaging with customers, how and when they want, with offers that are going to impact the bottom line.
Sweed makes it easy to know your customers, and even easier to act on that knowledge.
Because in today’s cannabis market, you don’t just need software. You need a growth engine.
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