Cannabis Summer Sales Trends 2022: From Memorial Day to Labor Day

When dispensaries and cannabis brands are building out cannabis advertising programs, it’s always important for advertisers to remember the power of seasonality. Holidays and special events often drive major sales days and cannabis is no different - just take a look at cannabis sales trends during 4/20.

In our latest analysis, we took a deep dive into cannabis summer sales trends across millions of cannabis sales trends from 2021 to find out what to expect for the summer this year.

In our Summer 2022 Cannabis Ad Planner, we put together our findings and strategic recommendations for building effective cannabis ad campaigns to make the most of these summer sales trends.

Here are our top findings:

1. Summer Fridays are the Best Fridays.

Fridays are consistently the top-performing sales days in the cannabis industry. During the summer, consumers are buying even more than the winter and fall months - likely getting ready for long weekends, parties, and outdoor events.

From May - September, cannabis sales are +41% greater on Fridays than average sales on Fridays throughout the rest of the year.

2. Memorial Day Weekend is #1.

We found that Memorial Day Weekend is the #1 cannabis sales weekend from May to September, with +69% greater sales on the Friday of Memorial Day Weekend compared to the summer daily average and +18% greater sales during Memorial Day Weekend than the average summer weekend average.

3. Father’s Day Weekend Drives June Sales.

The Friday of Father’s Day Weekend, which coincides with Juneteenth, saw 55% greater sales when compared to average June daily sales, making it the 4th strongest sales day of the summer.

Given that Juneteenth is a federal holiday, cannabis consumers are likely buying on Friday to get ready for a long weekend as well.

4. July is the Strongest Sales Month of the Summer.

Want to know what month could really pay off for a cannabis advertising campaign? Our data shows that July is the strongest sales month of the summer.

The growth in sales starts early. Cannabis consumers tend to start buying ahead of Fourth of July for the long weekend. A lot of consumers start buying on Thursday - the Thursday before July 4 shows the highest sales on any Thursday of the summer.

Friday is even busier: the Friday of July 4 Weekend drives 57% greater sales than July daily sales.

There’s also July 10, which, to some cannabis consumers, is the summer sales day equivalent of 4/20. Last year, 7/10 saw 22% greater cannabis sales compared to the daily July average.

5. Labor Day Weekend

While Memorial Day Weekend is the strongest sales weekend, Labor Day Weekend comes in as a close second.

As cannabis consumers prepare for the end of summer, we see strong sales throughout the weekend, with the Friday of Labor Day Weekend showing +65% greater sales than the summer daily average.

The Long Weekend Effect

Ultimately, our data shows that, during the summer, cannabis sales are marked by extremely strong weekend activity, rather than a major day like 4/20.

For advertisers, this means focusing on how to build ad campaigns that relate to the upcoming holiday weekends. Ad creative and offers that are relevant for cannabis consumers as they get together to celebrate or stock up for a three-day weekend will likely see higher engagement and conversion- especially since cannabis consumers are already in the market and thinking about these events.

Want to know how to plan your ads for Summer 2022? Download the Summer 2022 Cannabis Ad Planner to get our strategic recommendations on when to build ad creative, launch campaigns, and more!