Fridays Reign King for Massachusetts Cannabis Dispensaries

Long lines aren’t necessarily great for business.

Sure, long lines are better than no lines, but cannabis shoppers who have to wait extended periods of time to reach a point of sale are less likely to be returning customers, especially if another dispensary nearby can provide quicker service.

One of the easiest ways to keep heavy traffic moving in and out of a dispensary is to have proper staffing during busy days and high-volume hours, Nick Jack, chief operating officer with Nevada-based Diego Pellicer Worldwide, recently told Cannabis Business Times. Diego Pellicer is a national brand with vertical integration that focuses on refining the premium cannabis retail experience.

RELATED: 5 Tips to Capitalize on Friday Sales at Your Dispensary

“It’s great to be busy, but you want to ensure that you’re providing a quality experience to lock down that return customer,” Jack said. “If your customers are coming in and receiving slow/poor service on Fridays, your Fridays will eventually become less busy as consumers will opt to shop somewhere else that’s staffed accordingly.” 

Fridays are key in the retail industry.

The busiest day of the week, Friday adult-use sales averaged more than $5.4 million in Massachusetts during a five-week stretch from May 30 through July 3, according to data collected by CBT from the state’s Cannabis Control Commission.

That Friday figure represents a 61% increase compared to Monday adult-use sales, which averaged less than $3.4 million during that five-week period—the slowest day of the week.

Here are the average sales figures for each day during those five weeks:

In terms of monthly sales in 2022, Massachusetts’ adult-use retailers recorded their highest numbers ($123.1 million) in April—the only month to have five Fridays and five Saturdays so far this year. July will also provide this five-Friday boost.

Likewise in other adult-use states that have already released June 2022 sales figures, Illinois, Montana, New Mexico and Oregon also reported their highest adult-use sales totals in April through the first half of this year.

Although Oregon’s monthly sales also peaked in April last year, Illinois and Massachusetts totals did not (Montana and New Mexico did not launch adult-use sales until this year).

In New Mexico, Ultra Health CEO Duke Rodriguez, whose vertically integrated company has 38 dispensaries in the state, recently told CBT that Fridays reign king in the Land of Enchantment too.

“Friday is our biggest day of the week,” he said. “We have this cycle week after week—sales don’t occur evenly. So, those months that you have four Fridays are pretty average. Those months that you have five Fridays should be better than average. You gain the benefit of an extra day of the highest selling day of the week.”

RELATED: First Signs ‘Not All That Impressive’ for New Mexico’s Adult-Use Market

Launching commercial adult-use sales on April 1, New Mexico retailers sold $22.1 million in recreational sales that month. Rodriguez said the stars aligned that month with the expanded sales launch, the presence of five Fridays (and five Saturdays) and the 4/20 holiday.

He was right.

In the two months since, New Mexico’s adult-use sales dipped slightly to $21.1 million in May and $21.2 million in June, despite the buzz of a new market. Overall sales—adult-use and medical combined—dipped even more.

In Massachusetts, adult-use retailers recorded nearly $122.5 million in June, bringing their state’s 2022 sales total up to 709.9 million, a 19.2% increase from the first half of last year.

Taking advantage of the busy days is part of the blueprint for claiming a piece of that pie.