Many states are seeing a rise in marijuana sales as the coronavirus outbreak ordered people into lock down.
Consumers stock piled on their cannabis and are still purchasing it from dispensaries for curb side pick up or at home deliveries.
Inventory data from the Ontario Cannabis Store’s online has revealed that the sales bump seen earlier in the month may have trailed off after taking stock over the past weekend, said BMO Capital Markets analyst Tamy Chen.
Chen noted that inventory levels of dried flower on the OCS website fell by 13,000 items during the week of March 13 and those levels bounced back two weeks later to show a decline of just 2,300 items.
According to the analyst, this is a sign that cannabis producers were better equipped to replenish their inventory. Similar inventory moves were observed with vape products on the OCS website.
“We believe this may reflect pantry loading activity, rather than a permanent increase in demand for recreational cannabis,” she said. “If quarantine measures are extended for longer than expected, there may be another round of pantry loading activity.”
Of the companies tracked by BMO, Aurora Cannabis Inc. had the most net sales over the past month with about 6,400 dried flower items sold. Canopy Growth Corp. sold about 5,800 items.
According to Chen, the COVID-19 outbreak may continue to weigh on overall sales for the rest of the year.
