Cannabis consumers are very interested in purchasing legacy strains of cannabis, while cannabis beverages and products with cannabinoids appear to be less popular, according to new consumer data.
Cannabis Retailer commissioned Caddle to survey 8,801 Canadians on their cannabis purchasing habits and opinions in February 2024.
Cannabis Purchases
18% of respondents purchased cannabis in the past three months, a notable drop from the past two months. January 2024 survey results found that 24% of respondents had purchased cannabis in the past three months while December 2023 survey results reported 23% of respondents.
In February, 14% of female respondents compared to 21% of male respondents purchased cannabis in the past three months. These numbers have also dropped since December 2023.
Consistent with past survey results, the younger generations had the highest number of respondents that purchased cannabis in the past three months, while the older generations had the lowest number of respondents.
Purchasing Legacy Strains
Legacy strains were popular among respondents and slightly more popular among men. 78% of overall respondents said they would purchase legacy strains of cannabis bred with high-THC cultivars (specifically produced plant breed) if available.
72% of female respondents would purchase legacy strains compared to 82% of male respondents.
Legacy strains were most popular among the oldest and youngest generations with 87% of Greatest Gen and 84% of Gen Z respondents wanting to purchase them if available.
Importance of Minor Cannabinoids
Close to 40% of respondents have not purchased products with any minor cannabinoids in the past three months, while a smaller group have purchased products with cannabinol (CBN), tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV), or cannabigerol (CBG).
A higher percentage of female respondents have not purchased products with any minor cannabinoids at 46.9% compared to only 32.9% of male respondents.
The number of respondents purchasing products with cannabinoids went up as ages went down. Greatest Gen had the highest number of respondents that have not purchased products with cannabinoids in the past three months at 48.3% compared to Gen Z with the lowest number of respondents at 30.8%.
Products with CBG were most popular among Greatest Gen and Baby Boomers, while products with CBN were most popular among the other generations.
Cannabis Beverages
Cannabis beverages were of similar popularity to products with cannabinoids among respondents. 36.7% of respondents have not purchased beverages in the past three months. For those respondents that have, carbonated drinks were the most popular, while non-carbonated and other drinks were the least.
Similar to the purchasing patterns seen with cannabinoids, a higher percentage of female respondents have not purchased cannabis beverages (47.3%) compared to only 29.8% of male respondents. And once again, the number of respondents purchasing cannabis beverages went up as ages went down.
Greatest Gen (48.3%) and baby boomers (49.4%) had the highest numbers of respondents that have not purchased cannabis beverages in the past three months, while Gen Z had the lowest at 23.1%. Coffee was the most popular beverage among Greatest Gen respondents, while carbonated drinks was the most popular among the other generations.
Selling Cannabis at Events
Over half of respondents (57%) would like cannabis to be sold at events, such as concerts and festivals, while 24% do not and 19% are not sure. Slightly fewer female respondents would like cannabis to be sold at events (52%) compared to slightly more male respondents (59%).
The majority of Gen X, millennials, and Gen Z are in favour of cannabis being sold at events, while only 39% of baby boomers and 13% of Greatest Gen are in favour of this.