In recent weeks, the number of orders made through the sole online marketplace in Canada's most populous province Ontario has seen a significant and apparently sustainable increase. BNN Bloomberg, citing data obtained from the Ontario Cannabis Store (OCS), said that recent daily sales volumes have been significantly (and it appears, steadily and reliably) higher than those of only a month ago.
In early March, prior to the first significant wave of SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus cases in North America, the OCS was recording total daily orders of around 2,000. In mid-March that suddenly spiked to over 6,000 as the first measures to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus were announced. It then settled down into the 5,000 range.
Image source: Getty Images.
However, on April 3 -- when the Ontario government effectively closed marijuana dispensaries (a decision that was later reversed, albeit conditionally) -- volume spiked again, with nearly 13,000 orders through OCS on that day. This number has once again settled, but at daily levels of approximately 9,000. That represents a more than fourfold increase in volume from early March.
By provincial law, OCS is the sole online marijuana marketplace allowed to operate in Ontario. The site retails cannabis and related items from a wide range of Canadian marijuana companies, like Ontario-based Canopy Growth (CGC 15.03%). OCS customers can buy a selection of goods from Tweed, a core Canopy Growth brand, through the website.
Canopy Growth ended the week on a bullish note. Its shares rose by almost 4.4% on Friday, a larger gain than that of the main stock market indexes.
