Valentine’s Day was just yesterday, but flowers may already be going out of style. The culprit? New sales data suggests that cannabis vaporizers are surging in popularity on what’s becoming the planet of the vapes.
The cannabis delivery app Eaze, just released sales data from December 2015 through December 2016. During this time period, vape cartridge sales rose by 400 percent among Eaze customers, while flower sales plummeted. In late 2015, cannabis flower accounted for approximately 75 percent of Eaze sales. One year later, flower represented only 54 percent of overall sales.
The drop in flower sales seems directly related to the dramatic rise in the popularity of vaping. In late 2015, 6 percent of Eaze deliveries were for vape cartridges. That number rose to 24 percent just one year later.
Eaze has a total of 250,000 users who receive cannabis deliveries through their service. Of that total, 5,000 were surveyed, making this one of the largest sales reports to be released in the cannabis industry.
Although the data may signal a vape revolution, there are a few important facts to keep in mind when analyzing it. First, Eaze only operates in California. Second, as a delivery service, Eaze could attract a different customer than brick and mortar dispensaries. Since there is no industry standard on strains, one shop’s Green Crack may not be the same as what another shop carries. Smell and appearance are still important factors for those interested in cannabis flower and cannot (yet at least) be replicated online.
Eaze is a cutting-edge app that could interest a more tech-saavy crowd. Silicon Valley designers are already starting to make their mark on the cannabis industry. (Firefly and Pax, for example, have applied impressive technology to their vaporizers such as specific temperature controls and USB charging ports.) Those who use the Eaze app may be more inclined to purchase items that are part of the new wave of cannabis innovation.
The Eaze data did suggest that flower is still the most popular item delivered. The question is, for how long? Perhaps this is only the beginning for the rise of the vapes.
