Cannabis and Booze Sales Still Surging In Nova Scotia During Pandemic
HALIFAX — Nova Scotians’ Covid-fueled booze spending has eased slightly since its “unprecedented” spike earlier this year, but people are still shelling out way more than usual at liquor stores.
The Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation had another “very strong quarter” from June to September, bringing in $216-million in sales, which is 6.3 percent more than the same period last year.
To put that number in perspective, from September to December of 2019 (which included Christmas and other major holidays), the corporation sold just $168-million worth of products.
Last quarter’s $216-million in sales happened thanks to a five percent jump in liquor sales ($195-million in total) and a whopping 22 percent spike in cannabis sales, to just over $22-million.
The jump in cannabis sales is likely related to the NSLC reducing the average price of a gram by more than a quarter.
While the Q2 sales figures are great for the NSLC, they’re a slight dip from what NSLC president and CEO Greg Hughes called “an unprecedented quarter” from April to June. Combined with other trends, the NSLC’s financials appear to show a gradual shift back to “normal” for consumers.
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Take “average basket size,” for example.
When Covid-19 first arrived in Nova Scotia, the NSLC noticed customers were buying more at once so they could cut down on trips to physical stores. From April to June, the NSLC saw a 24 percent drop in the number of transactions at its stores but a 46 percent hike in “average basket size.”
That phenomenon was still taking place in the most recent quarter but to a much less severe degree. The NSLC says the number of transactions was down just 11 percent from July to September, with the “average basket size coming in a 22 percent more than normal.
In Q1 the NSLC also noted that sales to licensed bars and restaurants were down nearly 90 percent. This quarter they’re still down, but not nearly as much (only 44 percent, suggesting the foodservice industry is much healthier).
Meanwhile, trends in consumer taste continue to evolve.
“Ready to drink” products like ciders and coolers once again saw a huge jump in sales (close to 60 percent compared to last year), while craft beer and spirit sales went up slightly and wine sales continued to drop (they were down by almost 5 percent last quarter).