Retail data in 2022 confirms 4/20 still the largest single-day driver of dispensary sales

Retail data in 2022 confirms 4/20 still the largest single-day driver of dispensary sales

 

Cannabis retail sales on 4/20 continued to increase industry-wide, even as profit-per-store saw decreases from pre-pandemic and 2021 sales numbers, according to Cova Software, the largest cannabis Point of Sale (POS) company in North America. Americans spent an estimated $128M+ on cannabis this year on 4/20, while Canadians spent just a little over $16M. Although average sales per store did not match pre-pandemic levels, 4/20 still proved to be one of the most significant holidays in terms of cannabis sale totals and store traffic.

Despite the surge, Cova Software reported its fifth straight year of perfect uptime (100%) with an average processing time of 1.3 seconds. Successfully avoiding outages and crashes that have plagued dispensaries during times of peak traffic in the past. Cova’s POS and tracking software is trusted by a growing number of retailers as 647 new Cova-powered cannabis retail stores celebrated their first-ever 4/20.

“This year 4/20 continued to be the busiest day for dispensaries, which makes it even more alarming that retailers still see yearly crashes from other dispensary POS systems. Cova celebrated five years in a row of 100% uptime and zero network outages during 4/20,” said Cova Software CEO Gary Cohen. “This accomplishment, as the only major dispensary POS system to never suffer an outage during 4/20, is one we’re proud of. It means we’re delivering on our promise of reliability and scalability as a compliant and trusted partner. This gives our retailers an advantage on the most significant sales day of the year.”

Many consumers were eager to return to an in-store shopping experience and celebrations. With pandemic restrictions lifted, consumers reduced their demand for delivery or ordering ahead for pick up in-store. This was evidenced by the decline in online orders, with only 10.4% of online orders occurring in Canadian stores and just 5.9% in U.S. stores.

   

Traditional consumer holidays contribute to boosting sales in dispensaries, but the cannabis industry’s legacy holiday remains one of the busiest days of the year, at least in the U.S.

This year’s data shows that Canadians may celebrate differently than their neighbors when it comes to 4/20. Canada Day actually holds the current spot for the largest sales day of the year north of the border. However, with a whopping increase of 130% and 48% over regular day sales in the US and Canada, respectively, 4/20 certainly cemented its status as one of the cannabis retail industry’s biggest sales dates.

Despite other holidays and events becoming popular retail days for cannabis consumers, 4/20 overwhelmingly remains the best day for dispensaries to boost single-day sales numbers. As pandemic restrictions continue to be lifted, vacation season picks up and in-store traffic increases, dispensaries will need to invest in POS systems that can stay ahead of the cannabis industry’s high growth.

About Cova: Cova builds innovative software solutions specifically for cannabis retail. Its Award-Winning POS & Inventory Management platform simplifies compliance and streamlines complex operations. Cova’s seamless e-commerce and delivery integrations empower retailers to choose best-in-class tech solutions that help build their brand and safeguard customer loyalty. Ease of use, industry-leading support, and enterprise-proven scalability have made Cova the #1 cannabis POS in North America, trusted to power more than 2,000 retail locations.