Akerna, a enterprise software company and the developer of comprehensive technology infrastructure, ecosystem, and compliance engine powering the global cannabis industry, released a data report on women’s cannabis shopping habits as the demographic group continues to gain market share, up 3.3% since 2019.
When considering the millions of US cannabis consumers, these year over year shifts are quite sizeable and could have a significant impact on future product development:
| Year | Market Share – Women |
| 2019 | 35% |
| 2020 | 36.6% |
| 2021 | 38.3% |
“Cannabis has plenty of stigmas and stereotypes, but the data doesn’t lie – it has a broad appeal to people of all ages, sexes, and socioeconomic statuses,” said Jessica Billingsley, Akerna Chief Executive Officer. “I expect to see more and more brands targeting their products and marketing towards women in the coming years. Otherwise, they will risk losing participation in this growing market to the competition who does.”
Regarding women’s current product preferences, flower and cartridges are top choices, with concentrates coming in third – a category that recently overtook edibles for the first time, which moved down to the fourth most popular category for women.
| Product Category | Sales Percentage – Women |
| Cannabis Flower | 45.2% |
| Cartridges/Pens | 34.4% |
| Concentrates | 9.5% |
| Infused Edibles | 8.8% |
| Other | 2.1% |
Data showed direct correlations between age and product sales. The youngest age groups of women are most likely to buy concentrates, with product share gradually declining as age goes up. On the contrary, the more mature groups spend the most significant amounts on infused edibles, a value which decreases gradually with each younger age group.
“Concentrates are perceived as an advanced cannabis consumption method, which could be why they appeal the most to younger populations which have grown up with the legalization of cannabis,” said James Ahrendt, Business Intelligence Architect at Akerna. “On the other hand, edibles provide a discreet form of cannabis consumption with easy dosing, which is likely why they appeal to more mature populations.”
Other values for women cannabis shoppers:
- Average products per order
- Medical: 2.98 products
- Adult-use: 3.12 products
- Average spent per order
- Medical: $123.41
- Adult-use: $76.80
- Sales by age groups:
- Under 30 – 27.3%
- 30-40 – 29.3%
- 40-50 – 19.2%
- 50-60 –13.6%
- Over 60 – 10.6%
