How Successful was 4/20 this Year? 4/20/2022 Shopping Trends
Published on 6/5/22
There are few days bigger for the legal cannabis industry, and the cannabis community as a whole, than 4/20. After all, it's a day when stoners throw caution to the wind, blow massive amounts of their own hard-earned money, and smoke themselves into couch-locked, munchies-fueled smoke sessions. But here at Where's Weed, we like to dig deeper than vague figures like "massive amounts." We want to dig deep into the data and tell you exactly how massive those amounts were, how they compare to past 4/20s and ponder what this year's 4/20 shopping trends can teach us about future cannabis consumer trends.
So with all of that in mind, let's take a closer look at 4/20 sales in 2022 and see what we can learn about the present and future of this stoner-specific holiday!
4/20 By The Numbers
Before comparing how this year's 4/20 sales figures measure up to past events, let's use some stats to set a basic standard for how 4/20 compares to the average day at your local dispensary. Here are some takeaways from 4/20/2022 when you take a deep dive into the data!
North American Cannabis Consumers Driven by Discounts
According to Headset.io, a consumer research agency specializing in the legal cannabis industry, 4/20 is easily the biggest day for cannabis businesses and cannabis consumers regarding retail purchases, sales, and profits. In the U.S. alone, the average cannabis dispensary or business sees an incredible 148 percent spike in sales when compared to the previous four weeks. Our neighbors to the North, Canada, see similar trends at their dispensaries. Sales figures swell by 65 percent. That's a whole lot of interest and customer interactions all at once.
This massive bottleneck in sales is likely due to the vast array of 4/20 promotions and deals that target April 20th as a stoner holiday. American dispensaries' average discounting increases by a whopping 72 percent, while Canada takes things even further with an average 92 percent rise. North American cannabis consumers are ready and willing to splash the cash on 4/20 because it makes the most financial sense for them to do so! With the deep discounts offered by dispensaries, why not celebrate?
Forms of Cannabis Consumption are Changing
Long gone are the days when the only type of weed you had access to was sketchy dime bags full of stems and seeds and a few homemade pot brownies with little to no idea of dosage. Today, the modern cannabis consumer is flushed with many options when they walk into their dispensary, especially on 4/20!
Cannabis flower took the backstage this year, with 4/20 sales for cannabis-infused beverages growing by 110 percent in Canada and 176 percent in the U.S. Other stand-out categories to note were pre-rolls, which grew by 74 percent in Canada and 150 percent in the U.S., and edibles, and concentrates, which grew by an astounding 155 percent in the U.S. alone.
Simply put, consumers are looking for new and exciting ways to take in their cannabis. Whether it's eating it, drinking it, or dabbing it, North American consumers seem to be moving away from flower to other modern, more potent methods of cannabis consumption.
4/20 is Still a Big Deal for Cannabis Consumers
Despite cannabis being widely legal and approved by the public in North America, cannabis sales on the iconic stoner holiday haven't dropped off. Despite dispensaries, both medical and recreational, being widely available all year long, consumers still come out in mass to splash the cash on 4/20.
This year, consumers did so to a record-setting extent. According to a report from Akerna, the legal cannabis industry raked in an astounding $154.4 million in combined revenue across both recreational and medical dispensaries. That's impressive in and of itself. However, when you look at the weekend numbers, things get even more eye-popping. Sales for the whole weekend came in at a massive $485.3 million in total revenue. That's a whole lot of consumer dollars being splashed on legal weed products.
The cannabis-related holiday is so baked (pun intended) into worldwide cannabis culture that consumers just come out in mass for it. They're more likely to spend big on 4/20 for some reason, whether it's the discounts, the culture, or somewhere in-between. 4/20 is a special day for stoners to spend big, buy many cannabis products, and have a great time in a cannabis-related way.
The Future of 4/20
So now that we understand more about consumer trends on 4/20 and know a bit more about what's selling best among today's consumers, let's use that data to take a closer look at what the future of 4/20 looks like!
Plain and simply put, the legal industry is showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon. More and more states are going to legalize cannabis, the industry is going to grow even more, and more consumers will come on board to try the diverse range of products they offer.
We think it's a safe bet that 4/20 next year will be bigger and better than the last one. That's been the way things have processed for the past two decades now, so what would change? If there's such a thing as a safe bet, then putting your money on cannabis consumers buying legal cannabis on 4/20 is undoubtedly one!
