It turns out that cannabis businesses are just like any other business – at least when you consider that their sales peak around the holiday season, with the most profitable days being the same as most retailers. According to data collected by the cannabis delivery company Eaze, marijuana deliveries seem to jump quite a bit around the holidays.
This year they reported that the Wednesday before Thanksgiving saw a 71% increase when compared to the yearly average for a Wednesday – and since the beginning of the recreational market, many dispensary owners and industry workers have dubbed the day before Thanksgiving “Green Wednesday”.
“It looks like people stock up before the holiday on products that are easy to share amongst friends and family,” Headset Chief Technology Officer Scott Vickers told Bloomberg. “These products also allow inconspicuous consumption so they could be used to relieve the monotony or tension of some family get-togethers where cannabis is frowned upon.”
The sales continue to be above average on Black Friday and then return to just relatively above average through the holiday season. Then on December 23rd, Eaze reports a 22% increase over their yearly Friday average for the year – which turns into a 28% increase on Christmas Eve. Not too much of a surprise that deliveries drop 10% on Christmas day (many people probably expect delivery to be unavailable on the holiday, leading to a drop in customers).
The reason behind the increase in sales could be a number of things; increased anxiety, the increasingly accepted social factor or even people giving cannabis as gifts – but one thing is certain, the cannabis industry benefits from the holidays as much as any other industry.
Coming into the New Year is always a cause for celebration – and it appears that people are choosing to celebrate with cannabis, either instead of or alongside their champagne. Last year Eaze saw New Year’s Day deliveries increase by 41% compared to the yearly average.
Now that the medical industry has been around for a while and the recreational industry has been up and running for a couple of years it’s interesting to see how things start to normalize. Cannabis is becoming more accepted as a party favor, much in the same way that alcohol is accepted – and even expected – at many social gatherings.
As things continue to settle in and we are able to pick out these kinds of trends it will continue to become apparent that there are few differences between the cannabis industry and any other legal industry.
