DENVER -- Move over ice cream and hot dogs: Cannabis retailers enjoyed a Fourth of July boom in marijuana sales. The recent holiday weekend was one of the cannabis industry’s top-grossing sales periods, rivaling the “marijuana holiday” of 4/20 (April 17-20), according to data collected by MJ Freeway Consulting Services. From July 1-4, retailers sold $80.4 million in legal marijuana—a 25% increase over the daily sales averages in June.
A press release from MJ Freeway noted that the Fourth of July holiday drives cannabis tourism, with retailers frequently enjoying an uptick in shoppers and sales.
"Sales increases during cannabis holidays like April 20 and July 4 speak to a growing trend in the ubiquity of the cannabis market in the U.S.," said Jeannette Ward, MJ Freeway's data and marketing director. "The benefit to states through tax revenues and increased foot traffic in hotels and local businesses only helps to make local and state economies more vibrant and prosperous."
When it came to Fourth of July weekend sales, MJ Freeway also found:
- At $29.2 million, July 1 had the largest single-day sales of the holiday weekend. It likely benefited from Friday being the start of the extended holiday weekend (MJ Freeman noted Fridays are typically the highest weekly sales day for cannabis businesses).
- While some of 2016’s Fourth of July holiday sales increases can be attributed to the expansion of legalized cannabis states (both medical and recreational), sales in states with few regulatory changes also increased. Same-store cannabis retail sales in California, Colorado, Vermont and Washington increased by 22% from July 1-4, 2015. State laws did not expand who can consume cannabis in these states over the past year, but overall customer traffic was up by 25% in 2016.
- California had the total highest dollar sales for the holiday weekend, with $43.5 million. Colorado came in second with $20.5 million.
In speaking to marijuana retailers, MJ Freeway noted the following takeaways:
- Stores that are open longer (longer hours, seven days a week and on holidays) made more than those with limited hours.
- Shoppers ramped up their purchases up to five days in advance of July 4, 2016.
- Customer traffic should increase by another 25% or more for Fourth of July 2017.
- Major marijuana holidays include April 20, July 4 and Dec. 31, with sales spiking in the days leading up to these holidays.
MJ Freeway compiled this sales data through an analysis of 40% of the cannabis retail market.
“With the largest data set in the marijuana industry, we are able to understand the cycle of this fairly new market," said Jessica Billingsley, MJ Freeway's COO.
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