Shopify sees demand for legal cannabis

Online stores had ‘millions of visitors’ globally

TORONTO — The Canadian online cannabis stores powered by Shopify Inc.’s e-commerce software are collectively processing more than 100 orders per minute, the Ottawa-based company said, an indication of the high demand for newly-legal pot.

Since recreational cannabis was legalized in Canada at midnight, local time, the government-operated websites and private retailer portals powered by Shopify have processed “hundreds of thousands” of orders since cannabis was legalized at the stroke of midnight, said vicepresident Loren Padelford.

These online stores have seen “millions of visitors” from Canada and around the world in the hours since they went live at 12:01 a.m. local time.

“For 12 hours in and the number of stores that are live, that’s a pretty big number,” Padelford said.

Canadians of adult age are now able to purchase non-medical cannabis online or in physical outlets across the country for the first time — marking a massive shift in the country’s drug policy and the opening of what some are expecting to be a massive and lucrative market. It could be worth as much as $4 billion in the first year, according to a report from consultancy Deloitte.

Ontario, British Columbia, Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island — where online sales of cannabis will go through government portals — as well as some private retailers in other provinces, are using Shopify for their e-commerce websites.