Debra Borchardt
Now that 4/20 is officially in the rearview mirror, the bean counters say that this year’s holiday did not disappoint. Consumers clearly don’t care whether cannabis companies are making any money or not, they were here to party.
Flowhub said that 2023 was the busiest 4/20 holiday in history for dispensaries by average transaction count, up 5% from 2022 and nearly twice as busy as a typical Thursday.
Kyle Sherman, founder and CEO of Flowhub said, “The success of this year’s 4/20 holiday is a positive sign for the cannabis industry. It’s clear people want their cannabis as more consumers shopped on the holiday than ever before. We are also seeing retailers adopting a more efficient approach to holiday strategies, avoiding overdiscounting and spreading deals over multiple days. It is a testament to the maturation of the industry, and a sign of a stronger and more sustainable future for cannabis retailers.”
Headset’s data determined that 4/20 saw more than $100 million in total transactions – and at one point sales hit $160k per minute. Check out this cool video mapping sales for the day across the U.S.
Jane Technologies said that its data showed that 4/20 sales in 2023 increased by 9.7% over 2022, coming in at an estimated $26 million.
Cash is King
Flowhub also noted that debit transactions were 169% higher on 4/20 than an average Thursday in 2023.
Despite this increase, consumers still preferred to pay with cash. Cash transactions accounted for 83% of transactions on 4/20/2023. Not surprisingly, shoppers who used a debit card spent 17% more per transaction than on an average Thursday.
Drilling Down
Flowhub said that although more shoppers bought cannabis on 4/20 than ever before, they spent less per transaction with smaller average discounts.
“This suggests that both customers and retailers are being savvier with their money, likely due to lower cannabis prices and the state of the economy,” the company said.
Other data from the day’s transactions include:
- The average order value on 4/20 was $59, an 11% decrease from last year.
- The average discount amount was $19, a 17% decrease from last year.
- The average cart size remained the same year over year at four items.
The top five selling product categories in 2023, according to Jane Technologies, were:
- Flower: $10,346,361
- Vape: $6,623,246
- Edible: $3,128,225
- Extract: $2,028,396
- Preroll: $1,873,570
