Beyond Green Wednesday: Why December is a Growing Opportunity for Cannabis Businesses

Most cannabis businesses know about the power of Green Wednesday. It’s one of the cannabis market’s biggest sales days of the year. But recent data has shown that December, a time when family and friends are getting back together and people are on vacation, is proving to be a growing opportunity to advertise to consumers as well.

In Surfside’s “Season of Green” analysis, which analyzed millions of ecommerce cannabis transactions across our platform from 2020, we found that dispensaries and brands should still be advertising through December. As it turns out, December may be even greener than November.

Here’s what businesses should know when it comes to cannabis advertising during the holidays:

1. Average Daily December Cannabis Sales are Higher than October and November.

We compared daily cannabis sales across October, November, and December and found that daily cannabis sales are 14.6% higher than the daily average for October and November. The increased level in demand creates plenty of opportunities to advertise to new cannabis consumers as they travel to visit family and friends or stock up for holiday events.

During the second half of December, sales increase further, validating the effect travel and family get togethers have on a retailer's sales. We see that reflected in the numbers from last year: cannabis sales from December 18-24 were 24.3% higher than the daily December average.

With so much ecommerce activity in December, this is a chance to stay in touch as consumers get ready for the biggest cannabis sales day of the holidays: New Year’s Eve. To advertise to cannabis consumers, dispensaries and brands should reach out to previous customers and advertise to website visitors who abandon carts.

These are great ways to stay in touch as consumers get ready for the biggest cannabis sales day of the holidays: New Year’s Eve.

2. New Year’s Eve: The Greenest Day of the Season.

Big holidays mean big cannabis sales. This year, on the Friday before Halloween, we saw a 60% jump in cannabis sales compared to average October daily sales. That makes the Friday before Halloween the fourth-biggest sales day of all 2021!

We see even higher sales spikes as the year comes to a close and it all peaks on New Year’s Eve as vacation ends and the New Year begins.

Transactions from New Year’s Eve were:

-- 94.8% higher than daily sales in October -- 94.6% higher than daily sales in November -- 70% higher than daily sales in December

Brands and dispensaries should view New Year’s Eve as a peak sales day - the demand is already there. So think about how to drive cannabis consumers to the store with new specials and discounts, because they’re likely already in the market and shopping.

3. Holiday Fridays are the Biggest Cannabis Sales Days.

Cannabis sales on Fridays consistently outperform other days of the week, whatever the month. Those numbers go into overdrive when there’s a holiday involved. That’s what we saw on Halloween Weekend and that’s what we expect this year, too - Christmas Eve (12/24) and New Year’s Eve (12/31) fall on a Friday this year.

It’s going to be a competitive end of the year, which means dispensaries and brands have to break through the noise and start to advertise early in the month so that when those big sales days come, consumers know where to buy.

The Trends for 2021 and Beyond

As the cannabis market continues to grow, we get a clearer picture of the nuances across seasons and regions. Next year, even more states will be selling recreational cannabis and in more locations and more formats. By looking at the data behind the sales trends, dispensaries and brands can stay ahead of the curve by personalizing advertising to what consumers really want.

There’s a seasonal side to cannabis sales and, by understanding past trends, dispensaries and brands can work to make sure each year is better than the last.

Want to learn more about seasonality in cannabis?

Download the Season of Green Report