Drivers of Purchase Decisions Among Consumers of Dried Flower Cannabis Products - A Discrete Choice Experiment.

Abstract

Cannabis was legalized for non-medical use in Canada in 2018. However, with a long-established illegal market, it is important to understand cannabis consumers preferences in order to create a market that encourages purchasing cannabis through legalized channels. A survey including a discrete choice experiment was conducted to estimate preference weights for seven attributes of dried flower cannabis purchases (price, packaging, moisture level, potency, product recommendations, package information and regulation by Health Canada). Participants were at least 19 years of age, lived in Canada, and purchased cannabis in the last 12 months. A multinomial logit (MNL) model was used for the base model, and latent class analyses to identify sub-groups preference profiles. 891 participants completed the survey. The MNL model showed that all attributes significantly influenced choice, except product recommendations. Potency and package information were most important. A three-group latent class model showed that ~30% of the sample were most concerned with potency, while two groups, jointly making up the remaining ~70% were most concerned with package type ( ~40% preferred bulk packaging, ~30% preferred pre-rolled joints). Consumer purchase preferences for dried flower cannabis was influenced by different attributes. Preference patterns can be grouped into three groups. About 30% of the population appeared to have their preferences met by the legalized market, while another 30% appeared to be more loyal to the unlicensed market. The remaining 40% represented a group that may be influenced through regulatory changes to simplify packaging and increasing availability of product information.