Online cannabis pickup app launched in Alberta
The company behind a mobile cannabis pickup app newly launched in Alberta and Saskatchewan is hoping it can drive more consumers to legal markets.
“It’s bringing cannabis into the modern consumer ecosystem. It’s how people browse today,” said Jo Vos, managing director at Seattle-based Leafly, which recently announced the launch of the Leafly Pickup app along with Canadian recreational retailer Spiritleaf.
“A legal market needs to be accessible for it to work, and today that means being digital too,” said Vos, who says the app will expand to include other licensed retailers. Spiritleaf operates one retail location in Argyll Plaza and one in Old Strathcona in Edmonton.
Boasting at least 1.5 million users in Alberta, the Leafly website offers information, news and a strain guide that connects users to local dispensaries. Operating in the U.S. for almost a year, the Leafly Pickup app has hundreds of retailers in nine regions taking advantage of the service, said Vos.
“For me, it’s about creating convenience,” said Vos. Leafly Pickup allows consumers to browse the menus of participating retailers, know when products are in stock, reserve them online, and then pick up and purchase in-store.
The Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis AGLC agency has a monopoly on online sales of recreational cannabis to ensure it stays out of the hands of minors. This means in Alberta, all other online recreational sale sites are illegal, creating a legal grey area for third-party services who want to deliver directly to your door.
Toronto-based liquor delivery service Boozer, along with Pineapple Express, an Oakville, Ont.based cannabis delivery service, recently announced they are working together to offer cannabis delivery app Super Anytime across Canada.
Like Skip the Dishes or Ubereats, it would allow consumers to browse retailers and purchase directly from retailers through the service, with drivers picking up and delivering.
Mike Kniazeff, CEO and co-founder of Boozer, says the company will be delivering cannabis to customers in Manitoba by the fall, and hopes to expand west.