Green Wednesday was second biggest day of year for cannabis sales

The cannabis industry, like many of its more ardent consumers, tends to march to the beat of its own (jam band) drummer, and that certainly holds for its biggest sales events.

The biggest shopping days for cannabis retailers is not Black Friday or Cyber Monday but rather April 20 (a wink to the common cannabis term, 420) and the day before Thanksgiving, known as Green Wednesday.

This year’s results are in, and they’re nothing to sneeze—or cough—at. Sales revenues at dispensaries increased an average of 91% over a typical Wednesday, and the average cart size was up 9%, to $70.80, according to Dutchie, a point of sale and e-commerce platform used by more than 6,500 dispensaries in the US and Canada.

For the year thus far, it marked the second-biggest sales day of the year, with 4/20 the best with 17% higher sales, per Dutchie.

“While not as well-known as 4/20, Green Wednesday is quickly becoming a premier cannabis holiday and a vital day of business for cannabis dispensaries,” Dutchie CRO Spencer Scott stated in a press release. “And as more Americans swap alcohol for cannabis, the popularity of Green Wednesday will just increase.”

Merry Jane: For Jane Technologies, another digital platform for the cannabis industry that’s used by more than 2,500 retailers and brands, total sales on Green Wednesday were up 101% over the average of the three preceding Wednesdays; the average cart size of ~$90 was about 10% higher than the three preceding Wednesdays.

At Ayr Wellness, a publicly traded cannabis company with more than 90 dispensaries, and numerous brands of products across raw flower, edibles, vapes, beverages, and more, revenues on Green Wednesday were up 82% compared to the average over the previous Wednesdays in November. But just because it’s cannabis doesn’t mean everything’s dope: sales on the day were down 7% compared to last year.