Green Wednesday: 2018 Sales Data Shows The Date Is A Bestseller For Cannabis Companies

"Green Wednesday" is catching fire.

The day before Thanksgiving has turned into a well-known marijuana shopping day in America, with Eaze reporting record sales that were only outpaced by April 20 sales, as deliveries almost doubled those of a regular Wednesday last year. Data from Headset confirms this massive surge in demand.

CannAmerica Brands CEO Dan Anglin said: “In Colorado, the day before Thanksgiving has long been the kickoff to the biggest season for cannabis sales in the state. With the ski season and holiday travel cranking up, sales start to increase in mid-November and continue to rise through the end of January.”

Josh Segal, CEO of cannabis marketing and advertising company Adloop, said the hope is that one day Green Wednesday will become as big as 4/20.

'Money Be Green'

Brands and dispensaries are now allocating big bucks to marketing and advertising Green Wednesday deals. In markets like California, companies are making a branded product push to satisfy consumer demand, as many individuals are traveling to the state to seek out branded products for the holidays, Segal said.

“Our industry is trying to establish other holidays such as Green Wednesday to further bolster sales volume, particularly in recreational states that are seeing a shift in consumer purchasing patterns that have brands and retailers excited about the future of the holiday."

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Consumer travel to recreational states for weed holidays means companies are seeing a shift in what weed enthusiasts want to buy while visiting, Segal said. 

“If you make a THC-infused candy — chances are you’re competing with eight other THC candies …in the same store,” the CEO said. “Over the next five to 10 years, we expect the industry to continue to see exponential increases in marketing towards individuals seeking these branded products, particularly as new states and recreational marketplaces open to the public.”

2018 Numbers

Green Wednesday saw high sales this year as well, beating retailer expectations and meeting consumer demands.

Eaze reported a 136-percent increase in deliveries made by retail partners, with a strong percentage of that going toward vaporizers, which represented 37 percent of all sales by the company’s retail partners.

Following vaporizers, the most popular products retailers sold were:

Flowers: 23 percent.

Edibles: 19 percent.

Pre-rolls: 13 percent.

“For the past three years we’ve seen an upward sales trend of vapes taking on flower in the cannabis marketplace,” said Sheena Shiravi, Eaze's director of consumer communications.

“This year we noticed edibles making a strong comeback as well. Cannabis brands are now offering lower-dose options that are appealing to consumers. The average consumer is also more educated about cannabis, which has led to a rise in purchases and will continue to do so with more states legalizing each year.”

Interestingly, Eaze also saw a 90-percent increase in CBD-dominant purchases among consumers 66 and older. 

For its part, Headset reported Green Wednesday sales of:

$7 million in California.

$4 million in Colorado.

$2 million in Nevada.

$4 million in Washington.

“While these numbers seem small, remember that Green Wednesday is a Wednesday, which is normally one of the slowest days for retail cannabis,” said Cy Scott, co-founder and CEO of Headset, adding that this year’s sales were higher than those seen on an average Friday.

Black Friday also showed a 21-percent sales spike this year versus a typical Friday, Headset said. This means that while people made purchases on Green Wednesday like it was a Friday night, it didn't cannibalize Friday sales.

The sales trends point toward people viewing Green Wednesday as an “extra Friday night,” according to the company.

In Detail

According to Headset’s data, Green Wednesday boasted sales across California, Colorado, Nevada and Washington boasted sales that were 53-percent greater than an average Wednesday in comparison to Wednesdays in October and November 2018.

Sales increases were attributed to increased customer traffic. Translation: this means is that the sales spikes were mostly due to more people buying weed, rather than the same customers buying more pot.

Segments that did particularly well were:

Category	Surge In Sales vs. Average
Carbonated Beverages	112%
All Edible	83%
Vapor Pens	56%
CBD - Flower & Pre-Roll	46%
Gummies	92%

A MedMen Enterprises Inc. MMNFF dispensary in Nevada. Photo by Javier Hasse.