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Canna-tech companies were busy over the long 4th of July weekend, analyzing sales data from their various platforms for what was expected to be one of the biggest weeks of the year for cannabis retailers. In Canada, the national holiday Canada Day is celebrated on July 1, with vendors hoping for a holiday spike in sales.

Last week canna-tech company Surfside predicted that the Thursday before the 4th of July, 2022, might be the busiest day of the summer in the U.S. Their analysis also indicated that Fridays in the summer have a magic of their own and consistently saw increased sales compared to other days of the week and Fridays during other times of the year.

Pregaming the 4th

According to data analyzed by canna-tech companies Akerna Corp. and Flowhub, the Friday before the 4th of July turned out to be the big day for retail sales in the U.S. 

Akerna (NASDAQ: KERN) said that according to their data, Friday, July 1,  became the second highest-grossing sales day for 2022, with USD $106.7 million in sales. Data from Akerna’s MJ Analytics platform indicated that compared to $89.6 million in sales on the same day in 2021, this year showed a 19.1 percent sales increase. Monday, July 4th, had lower sales, which was attributed to stores being closed for the holiday. 

Data from Flowhub’s platforms said sales on Friday, July 1, were up 15 percent compared to a regular Friday. The Saturday and Sunday before 4th of July saw a five percent increase each day, while the 4th of July saw a scant two percent increase. Flowhub added that 33 percent of sales on their platforms for the holiday weekend included a discount. 

Delivery and distribution company Lantern said sales were strong before and throughout the weekend, with customers purchasing “flower, then edibles, and then vapes, (with) more customers than usual who bought drinks and pre-rolls.”

SpringBig, a company that develops customer loyalty program technology for cannabis vendors, said their platform saw a slight increase in overall sales, with $16.9 million this year, compared to $16.8 million for the same weekend last year. “The sales and loyalty redemptions numbers are almost identical between last year and this year,” they said.

Canadian Declines

Data company Headset saw declines in sales this year, specifically on Canada Day and July 4th.  

In Canada, on July 1, Headset noted an average decline in sales of 23 percent across all provinces, with Ontario experiencing the biggest drop at 29 percent. Across product categories on Canada Day, there was a decline in sales for typically popular items including “vapor pens (-27%), flower (-25%), oil (-22%), and concentrates (-19%).” The company did not have comment on what may have triggered sales to trend lower or if sales prior to Canada Day were elevated.

In the U.S., July 4th saw a 6.6 percent drop in sales, compared to the four previous Mondays. Across product categories, Headset data indicated, “Not all products fared the same with Pre-Rolls  actually seeing an increase in sales of +6% on July 4th while Topicals and Capsules (traditionally consumed in a more health and wellness setting) saw declines of -17% and -28% respectively.”

Dab Day Outlook

With medical and adult-use cannabis vendors now looking forward to July 10 – aka 7/10 or cannabis concentrate event Dab Day – it remains to be seen if the little-known cannabis holiday will grow in popularity. With looming global recession, worsening inflation and market mayhem in effect, consumers may be looking for bargains or more conservative with spending, though July typically sees higher overall sales than other months of the year.

In comparison, Headset shared insights for Dab Day 2021 with Green Market Report after last year’s holiday. Their data indicated that U.S. sales increased slightly, while 7/10 sales in Canada remained flat:

• Total Sales Growth: On Dab Day 2021 (7/10/21) total US cannabis sales slightly increased by 3.3% over an average of the previous four Saturdays. Canadian cannabis markets experienced more or less flat sales over the same time frame with a decrease in daily sales of -0.7%.

• Category Sales Growth: US cannabis customers showed up for ‘Dab Day’ 2021. Concentrate sales increased by 67.4%, and was the category with by far the highest sales growth on that day.  Vapor pens, which we’ve seen also get a little lift from ‘Dab Day’ in the past, increased in sales by 7.1%.  Unlike the US, ‘Dab Day’ was not as successful in Canada; concentrate sales increased by only 5.5%. 

• Concentrate Segment Growth: In the US on Dab Day 2021, Rosin products had the strongest growth, increasing in sales by 213% over the previous four Saturdays. HTE (+153.4%) was the next most successful segment. 

• Dab Day Discounts: Dab Day was a fantastic day for American concentrate fans to stock up on products this year. In the US the average discount on concentrates grew by a whopping 60%, rising from 16.0% during the previous four weeks to 25.6% on 7/10/2021.