Uber enters cannabis market in Canada, users can place order on app
According to the spokesperson, Uber Eats will include cannabis shop Tokyo Smoke on its marketplace on Monday. Consumers will place orders using the Uber Eats app and then pick them up at their nearest Tokyo Smoke location.
FollowCustomers in Ontario, Canada, will be able to buy cannabis using Uber Technologies' Uber Eats app, marking the ride-hailing company's foray into the booming business.
According to the spokesperson, Uber Eats will include cannabis shop Tokyo Smoke on its marketplace on Monday. Consumers will place orders using the Uber Eats app and then pick them up at their nearest Tokyo Smoke location. Uber, which already distributes booze through its Eats division, has had its eye on the expanding cannabis industry for some time. In April, Dara Khosrowshahi, the business's CEO, informed the media that the company would explore delivering cannabis once the legal landscape in the United States is clear.
More than three years after recreational cannabis was legalised in Canada, the government is attempting to repair its ailing pot industry, in which illicit producers continue to control a sizable portion of total yearly sales. The arrangement, according to Uber, will allow Canadian adults in acquiring safe, legal cannabis, therefore battling the underground criminal market. The underground market continues to account for more than 40% of all non-medical cannabis sales in the United States.
The MJ ETF, which tracks global cannabis firms, was up 2% in premarket trading, while Uber's shares were up 1.2 per cent at $44.78. According to industry research company BDS Analytics, cannabis sales in Canada will hit $4 billion in 2021 and climb to $6.7 billion in 2026. When asked if the company plans to expand into additional Canadian provinces or the United States, an Uber spokeswoman stated, "nothing more to announce at this time."Â
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According to the spokesman, the business will continue to monitor restrictions and opportunities market by market actively. And, when local and federal regulations change, we will look for possibilities with retailers in additional areas.
Last year's pandemic-induced stricter mandates and lockdowns spurred demand for cannabis-related products from customers who were stuck at home with limited entertainment options.
