Every cannabis operator expects January to be a slow month. We chalk it up to post-holiday pullback, customers recovering from holiday spending, and typical retail seasonality.

But looking at Alpine IQ’s data on the top 100 CA dispensaries and 500 best-selling products, plus Google Trends, a different picture emerges:

What Actually Happened in January?

• Total orders dropped (-7%) vs. December. No surprise there.
• Vapes were the ONLY category to grow (+21.5% orders, +25.9% revenue).
• Edibles softened (-4.1% orders) but outperformed flower, pre-rolls, and concentrates (-6 to -9%).
• Google Trends confirms that interest in ‘vape pen,’ ‘weed pen,’ ‘weed edibles,’ and ‘THC edibles’ was GREATER than or equal to Green Wednesday (Nov 22) during Jan 5-11.

TL;DR: January wasn’t just “quiet”—it was a category rebalancing month.

The Real Question: Are We Misallocating Resources in Q1?

Most operators take a defensive stance on January:
Marketing budgets shrink (since “people are buying less”).
Dispensaries go lean on staffing/inventory (expecting lower foot traffic).
Brands slow launches & pull back promos (assuming “it’s not the right time to push”).

But if the market composition is actually shifting rather than simply declining, shouldn’t we be playing offense instead of defense?

What if January is a new customer onboarding opportunity?
If alcohol-reduction consumers are coming in for vapes & edibles, are we:
Serving them the right content? (First-time-friendly education, comparison charts, trial offers)
Giving them the right offers? (Bundled discovery kits, first-time discounts, category-specific promos)
Using the right acquisition channels? (January is an owned media & CRM month, not just a paid media play)

Are we pricing products right for this shift?

• Are edibles/vapes missing the ‘entry-tier’ SKUs?
• Should we be more aggressive in price segmentation (cheap trial vs. premium brand reinforcement)?

What about inventory planning?

• Did flower-heavy retailers see more of a demand cliff vs. those strong in vapes/edibles?
• Did menu structure impact conversion rates? (Was there a stronger upsell path for new vape buyers?)

(Data sourced from Alpine IQ’s Market Spotlight Report, analyzing the top 100 cannabis retailers and top 500 products sold in CA. Google Trends data reinforces shifting consumer behavior.)