Canada Records Six Straight Monthly Sales Records in August

Cannabis spending continues on its record trajectory, posting total sales of $357M Canadian dollars in the month of August. Recent Stats Canada reports outlined the sixth consecutive month of record sales.

Monthly spending on legal marijuana increased by 33 percent from July to August, reaching a total of $357M Canadian dollars. The monthly increase represents the highest-ever ordered cannabis revenue for Stats Canada, which began tracking spending in November 2017. The majority of these gains came from just 2 provinces (Ontario and British Columbia). As stats show Ontario and British Columbia accounted for 91.1% of the retail sales growth in August.

Overall, Canadians have now purchased more than 1B Canadian dollars worth of legal cannabis since recreational became available to consumers. According to the Government of Canada, recent stats for the breakdown of the sold product was 64% dried cannabis, 20% cannabis edibles/ drinkables, and 17% cannabis extracts.

 

Breakdown of Cannabis sales by province:

1) Ontario- $139.2M (+9.9%)

2) British Columbia- $52.3M (+7.1%)

3) Alberta- $60.4M (Even)

4) Quebec- $52.2M (Even)

5) Manitoba- $13.4M (+11.3%)

6) Saskatchewan- $13.4 M (+1.5%)

7) Nova Scotia- $8.6 M (-1.5%)

8) New Brunswick- $7.2 M (-1.5%)

9) Newfoundland and Labrador - $5.5 M (+3.5%)

10) Prince Edward Island- $2.5 M (+4%)

11) Northwest Territories- $1.7 M (Even)

12) Yukon - $0.9 M (Even)

13) Nunavut - $0.3M (Even).

 

Stats Canada analyst Geof Nightingale stated; "The persistently high spending on cannabis over the past few months is reflective of the fact that Canadian consumers are choosing to purchase legally produced products, as opposed to trying to source them from the illicit market. That said, we continue to see year-over-year increases in monthly spending."

 

This increase in market share from the legal stores is due to a few key factors aligning since the legalization:

1) Better quality cannabis products in store

2) Cheaper legal products in store

3) Increased access as more cannabis stores come online

4) Increased education- making consumers feel more comfortable purchasing cannabis products

5) Quality control- all legal products are tested to ensure they are free from mold and bacteria which can be found in some black market products.

 

All these factors should ultimately lead to a larger cannabis market size. Especially as more people who don't typically use cannabis get educated and learn about the benefits for various desired effects.

 

Stay Lifted,