In a recent report by Headset, the company explores consumer demographics in 2021 and what ages and genders are buying the most cannabis in Canada versus the United States. Read on to see which consumer groups dominated the market in Q4 2021.
Age Group Sales Share by Country
Age Group Sales Share by CountryDuring Q4 2021, Canadian Gen Z consumers (ages 10-25) had a higher sales share than their US counterparts – 19.2% of total cannabis sales compared to 15.5% by the same group in the US. Headset suggests this is likely due to the legal age of consumption being lower in Canada.
On the opposite end, the total sales to older customers in Canada is much lower compared to those in the US. For example, Baby Boomers contributed 7.5% of sales in Canada, while almost double that (13.1%) in the US.
Demographic Group Sales Share by Country
Headset also compared the relative Q4 2021 sales share of each demographic group, age and gender combined. There are several demographic groups with nearly identical sales share between the US and Canada – namely Millennial Males and Gen X Females. But in most demographic groups there are significant differences.
For instance, Gen Z and Millennial Females contributed higher sales in Canada than the US. Notably, female customers overall contributed 36.7% of total sales in Canada, while in America that value was only 32.6%. Comparatively, in the US, Gen X and Baby Boomer Males contributed significantly higher sales than those groups in Canada.
What does this mean for 2022?
Canada’s cannabis industry experienced a 50% year-over-year growth in 2021. While December figures have not yet been finalized, cannabis sales are set to be over $3.9 billion in 2021, compared to $2.6 billion in sales from 2020, according to Statistics Canada.
By the end of 2021, retail prices fell, but consumer demand continued to grow. As more women continue to buy cannabis, this could lead to shifts in product demand. Past reports show women prefer edibles, topicals and tinctures, and sublinguals, often with an interest in cannabis from a wellness perspective. With recent buzz around sugar-free cannabis edibles entering the Canadian market, the female market and products available seem likely to expand.