Thanksgiving holiday Cannabis sales see double-digit year-over-year growth

Cannabis sales for the Thanksgiving holiday were up 12% YoY, Green Wednesday on track to become the second highest cannabis sales day of 2022 with a staggering $116.4M in single day sales, showing 16% increase YOY.

Business intelligence from Akerna (Nasdaq: KERN), a leading enterprise software company and the developer of the most comprehensive technology infrastructure, ecosystem, and compliance engine powering the global cannabis industry, delivered data showing that Green Wednesday and Black Friday are on track yet again to become the second- and third-highest grossing sale days for regulated cannabis in the U.S. for 2022. These holiday sales days are only trumped by the record-setting sales that took place on 420, the day marking the societal celebration of cannabis. From November 23 through November 26, the Thanksgiving holiday weekend delivered over $289 million in sales, collectively up 12.7% year over year.

The cannabis industry saw double-digit growth for two of the top sales days year-to-date: Green Wednesday and Black Friday. Green Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving, was the most fruitful sales day for cannabis, raking in over $116 million in sales, showing a 16% increase year-over-year. Naturally, as many retailers were closed on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday’s sales were low, but picked back up for Black Friday closing in on over $115 million in sales, a 14% increase year-over-year.

“Cannabis has become an integral element of the Thanksgiving holiday shopping tradition,” says Jessica Billingsley, Akerna CEO. “Visibility and participation in the holiday shopping season is a perfect opportunity for operators and brands looking to cement their place in the hearts and minds of their customers. For operators and brands to effectively participate and increase their visibility, it is critical to focus on differentiation and producing efficiently at scale.”

Additional sales data over the holiday weekend (November 23 – November 26, 2022):  

• Category sales
  • Flower: 48.7%
  • Cartridge/Pens: 32.3%
  • Concentrates: 11.6%
  • Infused Edibles: 5.8%
  • Other: 1.6%
• Purchaser demographics – gender
  • 60.4% men
  • 39.6% women
• Purchaser demographics – age
  • Under 30 years old: 26.6%
  • 30-40 years old: 31%
  • 40-50 years old: 21.3%
  • 50-60 years old: 11.8%
  • Over 60 years old: 9.3%
• Average order total (average dollar spend per purchase)
  • Medical: $111.77
  • Recreational: $68.60
• Average basket size (average number of items purchased per order)
  • Medical: 3.55 items
  • Recreational: 3.53 items