FINDINGS

• The 2018 global cryptocurrency market size is estimated at $754.056 million.
• The market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 31.3% from 2017 to 2025.
• The 2017 global cryptocurrency market size was $574.3 million.
• In 2025, the market will be worth $6.702 billion.
• The hardware segment of the market is projected to experience the most growth and dominate the global market.
•  Europe is estimated to account for the majority of the market share.
• BitGo, Xilinx Inc., BTL Group Ltd., Alphapoint Corp., Advanced Micro Devices, Inc., NVIDIA Corp., Intel Corp., BitFury Group Ltd., and Microsoft Corp. are some key players in the industry.

RESEARCH STRATEGY

Calculation

•  Formula: FA = SA * (CAGR / 100 + 1)^n
• where, FA = 2018 market size
• SA = 2017 market size
• n = years (1 year)
• 2017 global cryptocurrency market size: $574.3 million 
• CAGR: 31.3%  
•  $574,300,000 * (31.3/100 + 1)^1 = $754,055,900
• 2018 global cryptocurrency market size: $754,055,900

2018 Market Size

• In 2018, the global medical cannabis industry reached a market size of $11.7 billion.
• By 2026, the global medical cannabis market size is expected to reach $148.35 billion.

CAGR

• The CAGR for the global medical cannabis industry is an estimated 26.4%. 

MARKET SIZE

• According to Grand View Research, the size of the global legal marijuana market in 2018 was an estimated US$13.8 billion, with medical marijuana accounting for 70.3% of this amount.
• These figures suggest that, in 2018, the size of the global recreational marijuana or cannabis market was around US$4.1 billion or 29.7% of the global legal marijuana or cannabis market.
• The market share of the recreational market is smaller than that of the medical market because the recreational use of marijuana or cannabis remains illegal in most countries. Only a few countries such as Canada, Colombia, and Uruguay, and some states in the United States have made the use of recreational cannabis legal.
• According to Arcview Market Research, recreational marijuana is expected reach US$38.3 billion by 2027, making up around two-thirds of the global legal marijuana market.

CAGR

• According to Grand View Research, the global recreational cannabis market is projected to grow faster than the global medical cannabis market. During the forecast period 2019-2025, it is projected to grow at a CAGR of 36.4%.
• More and more governments are legalizing the use of marijuana for recreational use. By legalizing recreational marijuana, they are hoping that they will be able to (a) eliminate the black market and (b) gain considerable revenue from the tax imposed on the sale of recreational marijuana products.
• In countries where recreational cannabis has already been legalized, such as Canada and the United States, a shift from medical marijuana to recreational marijuana has been observed.
• The wide product variety, low price, and easy availability of recreational marijuana, and the insubstantial reimbursement for medical marijuana in some areas may be the factors driving this shift.

REGIONAL INSIGHTS

• North America will continue to dominate the global recreational cannabis market in succeeding years, as countries in other regions remain focused on the medical marijuana market.
• According to Arcview CEO Troy Dayton, "outside the United States and Canada, it will be almost wholly a medical-only business until the United Nations revamps the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, which will likely only come after the United States' Federal Government ends prohibition." Dayton expects that prohibition in the United States will end by 2021.

RETAIL/E-COMMERCE INSIGHTS

• One factor driving the growth of the recreational market for cannabis is the emergence of e-commerce platforms.
• The growth of the e-commerce channel, however, is being hindered by the fact that some cannabis products are still illegal at the federal level, particularly in the United States.
• Because of these legal restrictions, merchants are finding it hard to accept debit or credit card payments. This difficulty, in turn, is prompting some merchants to create their own payment solutions or partner with Shopify.
• Contributing to the growth of the e-commerce channel is Canada's nationwide legalization of recreational marijuana sale last October 2018. The number of states in the United States that has legalized the sale of recreational marijuana has increased as well. Alaska, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington are among the states that has legalized the sale of recreational marijuana.
• Most recreational marijuana sales in Canada happen online because "retail stores have been slow to open."

RESEARCH STRATEGY

Global Alcoholic Beverages

• In 2017, the global alcoholic beverages market was valued at $1,439 billion, with an expected CAGR of 2% from 2018 to 2025.
• Using the above data, the estimated 2018 market size for global alcoholic beverages is $1,467.78 billion (1,439 billion x 1.02).
• Research and Markets published a more recent market report on the global alcoholic beverages industry, but the data was behind a paywall. However, it was reported that the CAGR from 2019 to 2023 would be more than 3%.
• A move toward more premium alcohol and increase in disposable income are two of the reasons for growth. However, health concerns surrounding the consumption of alcohol, as well as the growth of the non-alcoholic beverages market, will hold down growth in the coming years.
• IWSR reported that 1.8% of total global alcoholic beverage sales occur through ecommerce. This indicates that ecommerce in the industry is in the infancy stage.
•  Europe holds the largest market size in 2018, while the Asia-Pacific region is expected to dominate the market in future years.

U.S. Alcoholic Beverage Market

• U.S. consumers spent 5.1% more on alcoholic beverages in 2018 as compared to 2017. The market size of the industry in 2018 was $253.8 billion.
• Beer volume was down in 2018, but total consumer spending on beer increased. The average price for a case of beer in the U.S. in 2018 was $31.29.
• Wine increased both in the volume sold and in total spending. The average price of a bottle of wine in the U.S. in 2018 was $10.84.

Europe

• From 2018 to 2023, the alcoholic beverages market in Europe is expected to grow at a CAGR of 3.5%.
• Total retail sales of alcoholic beverages in the EU was $377,455.0 million in 2017. This was broken down into $120,820.7 million for wine; $145,927.5 million for beer; $99,448.6 million for spirits; $4,728.4 million for ready-to-drink; and $6,529.9 million for ciders/perry.

Overall Gaming Industry

• The global games market reached a market size of $138.7 billion in revenue in 2018.
• Smartphone games made up 35% of the revenue, then console games (31%), then boxed/downloaded PC games (22%), tablet games (9%), and browser PC games (3%).
• In addition, in 2018, the Asia-Pacific region made up a total of $71.4 billion of the total revenue, North America made up $32.7 billion, Europe, Middle East, and Africa combined for a total of $28.7 billion, and Latin America made up $5.0 billion.
• The U.S. on its own made up $30.4 billion of the North American revenue.
• The total CAGR for the global games market between 2018 and 2022 is +9%.

eSports Industry

• The market size of the global eSports industry in 2018 was $906 million in revenue.
• This revenue is made up of sponsorship (40%), advertising (19%), media rights (18%), game publisher fees (13%), and merchandise and tickets (11%).
• The industry is also expected to reach $1650 million by 2021, seeing a CAGR of +27.4% between 2016 and 2021.

2018 TOBACCO PRODUCT MARKET SIZE

• According to a report by Grand View Research, the global market size for tobacco products for 2018 is approximately $639.255 billion. [estimated]
• The market will grow at a CAGR of 2.8% between 2016 and 2021.

MARKET ANALYSIS BY PRODUCT TYPE

• According to a 2017 report by the Foundation for a Smoke-free World, combustible tobacco products (cigarettes, cigars and cigarillos, and smoking tobacco) constituted 95.8% of the nicotine ecosystem by retail sales in 2017.
• In the same year, smokeless tobacco products made up about 1.6% of the nicotine ecosystem by retail sales.
• In 2017, cigarettes alone constituted about 89.1% of the global retail nicotine ecosystem by sales value.
• In 2016, cigarettes dominated the global tobacco product market, accounting for about 93% of the overall generated revenue, with smoking tobacco having only a 3.4% share of the global tobacco product market revenue.
• About 5.4 trillion retail cigarette sticks were sold in 2017.
• Accounting for the Illicit Trade, the figure increased to 5.9 trillion cigarette sticks in 2018 and has the potential to rise to 6.4 trillion sticks if locally manufactured combustible tobacco products are accounted for.

MARKET ANALYSIS BY GEOGRAPHY

• "Six largest tobacco companies generated approximately 80% of the nicotine-related product retail volume (in cigarette stick equivalents) globally during 2017".
• China has the largest tobacco market, followed by the U.S., the U.K., and Canada.
• China National Tobacco Corporation produced the largest quantity of the products accounting for 38%of the volume share. The next 5 publicly traded tobacco companies accounted for 42% of the volume share combined, with British American Tobacco accounting for 13%; Philip Morris International Inc having a 13% share; Japan Tobacco Inc accounting for 9%; Imperial Brands, with a 4% share; and Altria Group Inc, with a 3% share.
• According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the percentage of people who smoke globally is as follows: Europe (29.4%), Western Pacific (24.5%), Eastern Mediterranean (18.1%), South East Asia (16.9%), Americas (16.9%), and Africa (9.8%).

Research Strategy:

TRIANGULATION

• The global tobacco products market size forecast for cigarettes, cigars and cigarillos, smoking tobacco, and smokeless tobacco for 2021 = $694.47 billion. [s1]
• CAGR for this period = 2.8% 
• By using a CAGR calculator, we were able to calculate the 2018 market size value $639,255,017,778.63 or $639.255 billion.

FINDINGS

• According to the FDA, vapor tobacco products which include open and closed vaping systems, as well as heated tobacco products, are also known as vapes, vaporizers, and electronic cigarettes, among other names.
• The global market for e-cigarettes, also known as vapor tobacco products, was worth $11.5 billion in 2018. 
• It is forecast to be worth $24.2 billion by 2024 at a compound annual growth rate of 13%. However, a few market research reports estimate that this growth could be as high as 21.6% from 2019 to 2024.
• The market is very concentrated as only three players - British American Tobacco, Imperial Brands, and Japan Tobacco - have an aggregate share of over 60%.
• Europe - particularly the UK, France, and Russia - has the largest share of the global e-cigarette market.
• By distribution channel, the market is segmented into "specialist e-cig shops, online, supermarkets and hypermarkets, tobacconists, and others" with specialist e-cig shops dominating.
• The increased perception of e-cigarettes as being safer than traditional cigarettes has fueled the demand for these products.
• In addition, large manufacturers in the vapor tobacco products industry are partnering with or buying out smaller local vendors.

MARKET SIZE AND GROWTH RATE

• According to research by Hexa Research, the global nicotine replacement therapy products market was valued at US $2.28 billion in 2017.
• The same research company estimates that between 2019 and 2025, the market will grow at a cumulative annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.95%.
• Based on the information above, we have estimated the 2018 market size of the global nicotine replacement products market at US $2.37 billion (calculations below).

MARKET OVERVIEW

• According to Market Watch, the global nicotine replacement therapy market had the lowest market share (16%) out of the global smoking cessation and nicotine de-addiction products market.
• Researchers at Market Watch reckon that this is "due to the reluctance to adopt smoking cessation products," as well as a lack of awareness on the effects of nicotine de-addiction products.
• Between 2015 and 2017, the global nicotine replacement therapy market grew at a CAGR of 4.1%.
• The Americas and Europe account for 88% of all global nicotine replacement therapy product sales in 2017.
• Reynolds American, one of the top manufacturers of NRT products was acquired by British American Tobacco in 2017.
• In terms of product category, the global sales of NRT products during 2017 breaks down as follows:
• Gum: 53% 
• Patches: 24% 
• Lozenges: 18% 
• Inhalers: 1%; and
• Others: 4% 
• The sale of e-cigarettes surpassed that of NRT products in 2013 and the trend has remained the same since then.
• According to Hexa Research, the primary driver of the NRT products market is the increasing prevalence of diseases such as lung cancer, cardiac diseases, and respiratory disorders.
• According to Transparency Market Research, smoking cessation campaigns have become a major driver of NRT product adoption.
• Other events, such as "government policies on raising taxes on cigarette products, ban on smoking in public places, and other such reforms," have contributed to the growth of the market.
• The major players operating in the global NRT products market include "Cipla, GlaxoSmithKline plc, McNeil AB, NJOY, Inc., Novartis International AG, Pfizer, Inc., Revolymer PLC, and Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd."

RESEARCH STRATEGY

Calculations

• Growth rate: 3.95% 
• Initial value: US $2.28 billion 
• Periods (2018-2017): 1
• Final value: Unknown