Big Expectations For Green Wednesday

Green Wednesday continues to be one of the strongest retail days for cannabis dispensaries. In 2020, Springbig reported that Green Wednesday sales across 1,500 retailers, were up 79.43% from 2019. There are several theories as to why so many people flock to dispensaries before Thanksgiving to stock up. Here are a few:

  • Family gatherings can sometimes be very stressful and cannabis can help keep you calm. Uncle Joe insists on talking politics? No problem, just slip an edible in your mouth and you’re good to go. Aunt Sophie wants to know about your love life? Do divorced parents want to complain about each other? Are cousins bragging about their success? You name it – there can be many stressful moments and cannabis is there to help.
  • You’re headed back to your hometown and expect to see old friends. How awesome is it to roll into town and be the one to hand out mini prerolls, so COVID safe and still social? You may not want to go get drunk at a bar, but you can relieve the good times again as you party with your friends.
  • Have you ever had to go to two Thanksgiving meals in one day? The early eaters at one family and the late eaters at another? How do you stuff all that food into your mouth and be polite? You can’t say no to Grandma’s pies or she’ll be insulted. Ahhhh, this is when the munchies shine. This is their day! Bring on the munchies. You won’t even notice you’re miserably stuffed.

This year all companies are gearing up for the big day. Flowhub is predicting this year’s Green Wednesday to be another huge day, “probably on par with recent years’ 18% YOY growth.” Flowhub advises cannabis companies to make sure they’re staffed to accommodate a big Wednesday, be ready to upsell to keep those cart sizes high, and start building and promoting deals or promotions.

Last year, Flowhub saw that 50% of transactions included a discount; compared to 18% as the annual discount rate. The average discount per transaction on Green Wed 2020 was $8.94 and the average cart size on Green Wed 2020 was an impressive $66.

Turkey Day Promotions

This year, cannabis software company Fyllo said it was seeing a massive 3.5x increase in promotion-focused marketing investment – from the Monday before Green Wednesday running through Cyber Monday – over the same time frame last year. Fyllo is also noticing an overall increase in Green Wednesday-focused promotions in 2021

David Catanzano, VP Cannabis Operations at TILT (OTC: TLLTF) said that when looking at the data for past “Green Wednesdays,” there was a spike in pre-roll sales in 2019 due to lack of vapes, pre-rolls historically being a top seller, and offering an ounce of pre-rolls at a discount. The pre-roll ounces fizzled due to patients not wanting a full ounce of one strain. We haven’t run a pre-roll oz deal since 2019, so we’re revisiting but in the half-ounce increment and at an attractive price. With people traveling (in the state) for the holidays to be with family, a value pre-roll deal will be attractive to those looking to step away and get “some air” during the holiday season. Tilt sai dit was offering a pre-roll promo during Thanksgiving week (14 1/2oz pre-rolls for $99). 

Will 2020 Choices Remain The Same?

Cannabis point of sale company Headset reported that last year’s Green Wednesday saw (November 25th, 2020) the third largest single day of cannabis sales last year. Total retail cannabis sales on Green Wednesday across US markets tracked by Headset reached $61.9M, up 55% over the average daily sales during the previous four Wednesdays.  While all product categories saw sales growth on Green Wednesday, Headset said that certain categories attracted relatively more customers than others. 

The top-performing categories by relative sales growth were: Beverages (+89%), Edibles (+81%), and Tincture & Sublingual (+70%). The three categories that grew less than the overall market was Capsules (+54%), Concentrates (+50%), and Topicals (+44%). 

Despite beverages having a moment on Thanksgiving, LeafLink reported that last year flower was the most popular product category at 32.85% of GMV during the month prior to Green Wednesday 2020, followed by Cartridges at 25.89%. Packaged Flower products were the most popular subcategory, making up 18.07% of all GMV for the time period. 

The most popular products overall in the month leading up to Green Wednesday in 2020 were: 

○ Wedding Cake Packaged Flower – Pacific Stone (CA) 

○ Mango Mang Cartridge – PLUGplay (CA) 

○ Pure Green Cartridge – MUV (FL) 

○ Alien Lights Cartridge – Platinum Vape (MI) 

○ Uplift Sour Watermelon Gummies – PLUS (CA)

The most popular Packaged Flower products in the month leading up to Green Wednesday in 2020 were: 

○ Wedding Cake – Pacific Stone (CA) 

○ Orangeade – MUV (FL) 

○ Double Durban Kush – Nature’s Grace and Wellness (IL) 

○ Triangle Royale – District Cannabis (MD) 

○ Vovo – Seven Leaves (CA) 

Companies Weigh In On Green Wednesday

In 2020, Jushi (OTC: JUSHF) said it saw an average increase of 242% in sales on Green Wednesday, compared to 2019. Based on the success of previous years’ promotions, Jushi anticipates another highly successful Green Wednesday in 2021, and is offering deals up to 30% off select prices at its BEYOND / HELLO retail locations:

  • Pennsylvania: $25 off $125 / $60 off $250 / $120 off $400
  • Virginia: $60 off $250 / $120 off $400
  • Illinois: $25 off $125 / $60 off $250 / $120 off $400
  • California: $10 off $75 / $25 off $125

In addition, this year Jushi is offering an exciting Cyber Monday promotion of 20% off all online orders across its BEYOND / HELLO retail locations in Pennsylvania, Virginia, Illinois, and California.

Jane Technologies, Inc. 

  • In 2020, Jane Technologies, Inc, a leading online cannabis marketplace and retail software provider, saw an average increase of 241% in online sales on Green Wednesday, compared to 2019. Online sales on Black Friday increased by an average of 271% compared to 2019. 

Lantern 

  • In 2020, Lantern, a cannabis e-commerce marketplace and on-demand delivery service, cited a 343% increase in sales and a 87% increase in basket size, compared to the Wednesday prior. 

Glass House Brands 

  • In 2020, Glass House Brands, one of the fastest-growing, privately-held, vertically integrated cannabis and hemp companies in the US, saw a 10% increase in traffic from last year. Flower took the lead with 35% of the basket, pre-rolls followed with 24% of the basket and edibles, also taking 24% of the basket.

 

Debra Borchardt

Debra Borchardt is the Co-Founder, and Executive Editor of GMR. She has covered the cannabis industry for several years at Forbes, Seeking Alpha and TheStreet. Prior to becoming a financial journalist, Debra was a Vice President at Bear Stearns where she held a Series 7 and Registered Investment Advisor license. Debra has a Master's degree in Business Journalism from New York University.


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