CannabisDealsUS Price Index: Methodology

Overview

The CannabisDealsUS Price Index is a recurring, data driven indicator designed to track changes in
advertised retail prices for cannabis related products in the United States. The index is calculated
using aggregated product pricing data collected from multiple online merchants indexed by CannabisDealsUS.

The purpose of the index is to provide a consistent view of relative price movement over time, rather
than to estimate transaction volumes, sales revenue, or consumer spending.

Data sources

The index is based on publicly available product listings sourced from:

• U.S. online cannabis retailers indexed by CannabisDealsUS
• Publicly accessible merchant product and category listings

Only products with clearly indexed prices and identifiable categories are included. Inventory
availability, stock levels, and fulfilment outcomes are not considered.

Product coverage

The index includes products across multiple high-level categories. Examples include CBD products,
THC products, vaporizers and devices, cannabis accessories, and wellness related categories.

Each product is assigned a primary category and, where applicable, a subcategory to allow category
level analysis. Category definitions follow the internal taxonomy used across CannabisDealsUS listings.

The core cannabis price index reflects CBD and THC product pricing only. Headshop, Vaporizers, Wellness, Hemp, Mushrooms, and Grow categories are included for completeness but are excluded from core index calculations and headline comparisons.

Price definition

For each product, the effective price is used when available. Effective price is defined as the
indexed sale price if a discount is present, otherwise the regular indexed price.

Prices are recorded in U.S. dollars and reflect advertised prices at the time of data collection.
Taxes, shipping fees, loyalty discounts, and regional pricing variations are not included unless
explicitly stated in the listing.

Weighting Methodology (Canonical)

Product weighting

The CannabisDealsUS Price Index is an equal weighted product index.

Each eligible product included in a weekly snapshot contributes one equal unit of weight to the index, regardless of its absolute price, merchant, brand, or category.

Formally:

• Each product i has weight wᵢ = 1 / N, where N is the total number of eligible products in that index segment for the week
• Weekly index values are computed from the average relative price movement across all included products
• No product receives greater influence based on price level, discount depth, or assumed sales volume

Reweighting cadence

Weights are recomputed weekly based on the active product universe in that week’s snapshot.

This ensures that:
• Newly added products enter the index immediately
• Removed or unavailable products drop out automatically
• The index reflects the current market offering without manual intervention

What this means for interpretation

Because the index is equal weighted:

• A price change in a high priced vaporizer has the same influence as a price change in a low priced CBD oil
• The index reflects broad market pricing direction, not consumer spend or revenue impact
• Large price swings in small but expensive product segments do not disproportionately skew results

As a result, the CannabisDealsUS Price Index should be interpreted as a product level pricing signal, not a volume or sales weighted measure of consumer expenditure.

Data collection frequency

Pricing data is collected on a weekly basis. Each weekly snapshot represents the state of product
prices during that collection window. Historical snapshots are preserved to support week over week
comparisons and longer-term trend analysis.

Index construction

• A fixed baseline period is selected and assigned an index value of 100
• Subsequent weekly values reflect relative price movement compared to that baseline
• Values above 100 indicate higher average advertised prices relative to the baseline
• Values below 100 indicate lower average advertised prices relative to the baseline

The index is calculated using aggregated product level prices within each category rather than
merchant level averages.

Category sub-indexes

In addition to the overall index, sub-indexes may be calculated for CBD product categories, THC
product categories, and selected non-consumable categories such as vaporizers. These sub-indexes
follow the same methodology as the overall index but are restricted to products within the relevant
category group.

What the index does not measure

The CannabisDealsUS Price Index does not attempt to measure:

• Actual sales volume or revenue
• Consumer demand or consumption levels
• Market share of individual brands or merchants
• In store or offline pricing
• Illicit or unregulated market pricing

The index reflects advertised online prices only and should be interpreted as a pricing signal,
not a complete market valuation.

Limitations

• Prices can change outside the weekly collection window
• Product mix can evolve over time as merchants add or remove listings
• Promotions and temporary discounts can influence short term movements
• Coverage depends on participating merchants and available listings

For these reasons, the index is best used for directional analysis rather than precise forecasting.

Updates and revisions

The methodology may be refined over time to improve consistency, category classification, or data
coverage. Material changes to the calculation approach should be documented to preserve comparability across reporting periods.