Free delivery and store location are key factors that influence cannabis purchasing decisions and younger adults prefer higher THC content in their cannabis products according to new data.
Cannabis Retailer commissioned Caddle to survey 9,148 Canadian cannabis users in June 2024 about their cannabis purchasing habits and preferences around store delivery and location, craft cannabis, and THC to CBD ratio.
Cannabis Purchases
Less than 20% of respondents (18%) purchased cannabis in the past three months, down 5% from May’s survey. Out of the respondents, 14% of women purchased cannabis compared to 21% of men.
Except for Gen Z, cannabis purchases decreased across all age groups in June compared to May. Greatest Gen saw the largest decrease in purchases, down 16% from last month.
Free Delivery
Free delivery is a major factor for many cannabis consumers. 41.9% of respondents say it is very important, with an additional 23.4% finding it somewhat important in their decision to purchase cannabis products.
Similar responses were seen among men and women, but male respondents placed slightly more importance on free delivery than female respondents. A combined 66.8% of men said free delivery was very important or somewhat important in their decision to purchase cannabis products compared to a combined 62% of women.
Free delivery is a key factor for cannabis consumers across generations, but it’s especially important for younger generations.
The survey shows that nearly 78% of Gen Z and over 67% of millennials consider free delivery to be very or somewhat important in their purchasing decisions. While interest wanes slightly with older generations, a significant portion still find it relevant. For instance, over 55% of both baby boomers and Greatest Gen value free delivery to some degree.
Craft Cannabis
Consumers do not want to spend much more on craft cannabis. Over half of respondents said they would only spend less than $2.00 per gram more for craft cannabis flower.
Men appear more willing to pay a premium for craft cannabis compared to women. A total of 44.0% of male respondents would spend $2.00 to $3.99 more per gram, whereas only 33.8% of female respondents would do the same.
A significant portion across all age groups opt to not pay a premium for craft cannabis (ranging from 42.4% of Greatest Gen to 59.2% of baby boomers). However, there are some outliers. Greatest Gen surprisingly has the highest percentage willing to pay a premium of $3.00 to $3.99 per gram more on craft cannabis (57.6%). Conversely, millennials have the highest portion willing to splurge on the most expensive tier, with 3% willing to pay $6.00 or more per gram.
THC to CBD Ratio
Consumers have a range of preferences for THC to CBD ratios in cannabis products. A significant portion (57.4%) favour THC-dominant products with at least a 75% THC content. However, there’s also a notable interest in more balanced options, with 19.4% preferring a 1:1 THC:CBD ratio.
The survey shows a trend where younger generations tend to prefer higher THC content in their cannabis products, while older generations lean towards more balanced or CBD-dominant options.
Over 43% of Gen Z and nearly a third of millennials favour products exceeding 75% THC content. Comparatively, Greatest Gen, with only 11.2% preferring high-THC products, boasts the highest percentage (42.4%) favouring CBD-dominant varieties.
Store Location
For a majority of cannabis consumers, location is a key factor influencing where they shop. Over half (55.9%) say a store’s location is very important, with an additional 30.9% finding it somewhat important. This means that nearly 87% of respondents consider location when making their choice. Only a small percentage (4.2%) find location unimportant.
Location seems to be most important for younger demographics when choosing a cannabis store. The survey shows that nearly 92% of Gen Z and over 87% of millennials consider location to be very or somewhat important.
While the importance of location wanes slightly for older generations, it remains a significant factor. For instance, nearly 90% of baby boomers and over 80% of Gen X find location to be important. Interestingly, the data shows a unique trend for Greatest Gen, with none of the respondents indicating location was very important. However, nearly half (46.3%) still consider it somewhat important.
