Advocates of home delivery for cannabis have welcome news, in a way. While the pandemic was not “good” for millions, causing businesses to fail and workers to wind up without jobs, some interesting trends emerged. Much has been made of some trends that were accelerated due to the pandemic, and it seems one of those is the trend of people working at home. Along with this, consumers wound up getting food deliveries, and durable good deliveries more often. After all, if it’s not safe to go to a store, why not just have it delivered? The same goes for dispensaries — and state governments were (mostly) amenable to allowing home delivery of cannabis. How did it work out? Quite well, according to a recent poll.
The poll, from Ganja Goddess, shows convenience was the biggest factor for consumers choosing delivery over in-person shopping. This should come as no surprise to anyone who has been paying the least bit of attention over the last several years, as companies like Amazon have seen explosive growth precisely because of that convenience. This has caused massive bleeding of customers from longtime retailers like Sears, Toys’R’Us, and others that have now passed into history as a result. The trend of brick and mortar stores disappearing was one obvious way the pandemic impacted trends as well. And this poll proves it, with 90 percent of customers choosing delivery over retail cannabis shopping, and with only 20 percent doing so before the pandemic. That is a huge shift.
Interestingly, consumer patterns may have also shifted in other ways — at least if this poll is indicative of larger sentiment. For example, edibles outpaced flower as the primary consumption method for cannabis. Vaping is slipping in popularity, perhaps due to negative news stories about its safety. In the poll, a little over 57 percent of customers were partaking of edibles, with just under 53 percent choosing flower.
Turns out pandemic spending on weed through the dark web isn’t the only indication that people were home and craving more cannabis. Ganja Goddess reports that 53.8 percent of those surveyed said they were consuming more after the pandemic. Just four percent reported a reduction in use. Remarkably, the company saw a 635 percent increase in weed for sleep purposes — which makes sense if you’re stuck at home and unable to work out, garden, or even walk around the city to wear yourself out before bedtime. Even so, those are outstanding numbers and show just how useful weed is for helping customers sleep.
Ganja Goddess serves clients in California, statewide, and even though the poll was over 800 respondents, must be taken in light of other reports, like those showing alcohol use was being substituted for cannabis (GG reports it was flat in their survey), or other therapeutic uses. Will these trends continue as the population gets vaccinated and life returns somewhat to normal? It’s very likely that consumers will want to stick with convenience, but we’re also seeing a rise in outdoor events and other group activities that show people are eager to return to some sense of normalcy. These will be interesting stats to keep an eye on, as there’s still a strong case for having in-person sessions, a qualified budtender, and a good retail experience for customers looking to get their stone on for whatever reasons.
