OCS publishes “A Year in Review” insights publication for 2020-21

June 29, 2021 (TORONTO)  – Today the Ontario Cannabis Store (OCS) published A Year in Review (April 1, 2020 – March 31, 2021): Ontario’s second full year of legal cannabis operations, as a resource for the Ontario cannabis industry. It provides comprehensive data including detailed sales figures by category and brand, pricing information and consumer trends.

“In the last year, our industry demonstrated resolve as it continued to grow despite the challenges presented by a global pandemic,” says David Lobo, Interim President & CEO of the OCS. “While all retail businesses in Canada faced the devastating impact of COVID-19, the Ontario legal cannabis industry showed significant resiliency given it was only in its second full year of operation.”

Notable insights from the report include:

• Ontario consumers purchased more than 99 million grams of cannabis.
• Cannabis sales grew in alignment with the number of brick-and-mortar stores across the province, notwithstanding challenges presented by COVID-19.
• As growing access points to physical stores increases, consumers showed a preference for buying from brick-and-mortar stores, which accounted for 84% of OCS sales.
• Product pricing on OCS.ca and retail stores became more competitive; average prices were almost a dollar per gram lower than prices found through illegal online sellers.
• 2020-21 saw the emergence of Cannabis 2.0 product categories, resulting in greater innovation in the marketplace throughout the year.

The full report is available here: A Year in Review (April 1, 2020 - March 31, 2021)