With more and more sources for consumers to legally purchase cannabis, dispensaries need to be strategic about product offerings. Fortunately, detailed consumer information is available to help operators gain insight into what their customers really want.
Headset, a cannabis data and analytics firm, has just released a new reported entitled “Breaking Down Topline Sales Data By The Baskets 2019.” In this case, a basket represents the items purchased by a consumer in a single visit. Headset compiled their report with data from Washington, California, Colorado, and Nevada.
Millennial Money
Much has been made of older generations increasingly becoming cannabis consumers, but millennials are still the backbone of the industry. In fact, millennials are holding about 50 percent of all customer baskets with members from GenX and Baby Boomers holding about 24 percent each. GenZ consumers have tripled in the past year as many are turning 21, the minimum age in every recreational state to purchase cannabis products.
Flower Power
Alternative forms of cannabis are increasing in popularity, but flower is still king. Approximately 49 percent of all baskets contained flower in 2019 with a significant rise in pre-rolls. Consumers seem to be losing their appetite for edibles as only 9 percent of baskets contained them. In 2014, 15 percent of customer baskets contained edibles. Tinctures, sublingual, capsules, and topicals showed no major changes in market share.
Deep Pockets
The average basket value in California was $68.70, $62.11 in Nevada, $59.45 in Colorado, and $31.16 in Washington. Less than one-third of consumers bought items from only one category showing diverse tastes among customers and an opportunity to sell add-ons. Overall, the number of items per basket is rising and the average basket now contains at least 2 products.
“While there are some interesting demographic trends on the horizon, anyone looking for success in the cannabis industry should stay focused on building repeat business, pushing add-on purchases, and finding the right balance of pricing/discounts to encourage multi-item purchases,” Headset said in its report. “The big takeaway here is that, more than ever, the business fundamentals that drive sales in traditional retail industries do the same for cannabis.”