Cannabis Retailers Stock Up and Staff Up for Labor Day 2023

As Labor Day weekend approaches, cannabis stores across the United States are preparing for a busy holiday by building up inventory, offering promotional specials, and increasing staff to handle the expected uptick in foot traffic.

“Based on industry trends, we are expecting a very busy sales day as Labor Day is the third busiest day for dispensaries, behind 4/20 and the Fourth of July,” Ryan O’Keefe, CFO of Union Chill Cannabis Co., said.

To capitalize on that trend, the Lambertville, New Jersey, store will be offering discounts and bundles on a variety of products and running a marketing campaign through social media, emails, and texts.

Specials are also a key part of TerrAscend‘s strategy for the long weekend as well, according to Chantelle Elsner, acting president for the northeast region. She told Green Market Report in an email that the company also is fully stocking its stores with the latest products, while also focusing on education and personalized service.

“As summer draws to a close, we expect an increase in gatherings amongst friends and family,” Elsner said. “The diminishing stigma surrounding cannabis is likely to contribute to more cannabis consumption and a higher product demand over the holiday weekend.”

While it is difficult to predict exactly which products will be the biggest sellers over the weekend, dispensaries are preparing for a surge in sales of various product categories.

Rebecca Raphael, chief revenue officer at Curio Wellness, noted that certain dosage forms, such as eighths of flower, pre-rolls, vapes, and edibles, have gained popularity among adult-use consumers in Maryland.

“These dosage forms, especially vapes and edibles, will likely be big sellers because they’re discreet and taste great,” Raphael said.

Sales data from cannabis CRM provider Springbig showed that the best performing category overall for Labor Day in 2022 was flower, followed by vapes and pre-rolls. However, there were sales spikes for edibles (4.4% increase), concentrates (2.3%), and topicals and accessories (1.1% each) compared to the same time period a month prior.

However, there was a 7.9% decrease in CBD product sales.

Last year, according to Springbig, there was a 2.7% increase in sales across North America compared to Labor Day 2021, and a 3.2% increase in sales compared to the same time frame a month prior. Interestingly, there was a 16.2% increase in overall visits but an 11.6% decrease in the average basket size compared to Labor Day 2021, reflecting lower prices.

While national trend data is a great starting point, dispensaries also are leveraging past experiences to plan strategically for the holiday weekend, particularly since preferences can vary from market to market. Curio Wellness, for example, uses average sales data from the last eight weeks as an indicator of what’s to come, according to Raphael.