The cannabis market moves fast and BDSA is on a mission to keep up. The cannabis market research firm now offers Rapid Retail Sales Tracking for near real-time updates. Recent reports show sales recovery in mature markets like Colorado, California, and Oregon as well as continued strong growth for Massachusetts and Illinois following a dip in January sales.
What’s with the drops and upswings? BDSA reports that it’s from underlying market economics driven by price drops competing with increased unit sales in mature markets, new retailer locations, and expanded licensing pushing growth in new markets. The second half of 2021’s fiscal year saw sales declines in the largest markets as stimulus payments dried up and inflation began to rise. Those trends seeped into reports in January 2022.
“Despite moderate sales through January in several legal markets, our new rapid retail sales tracking shows strong recovery with positive week-over-week growth in February and March. We expect this growth to accelerate throughout 2022, especially in new and emerging markets,” said Jessica Lukas, chief commercial officer at BDSA.
BDSA’s tracking also found that Arizona’s emerging market experienced a 10% drop in dollar sales this January before stabilizing in the following months. Colorado’s mature market also trended upward in February and March following an 11% dip in sales in January 2022 compared to January 2021.
Data shows that price declines are present across categories in several markets. Flower is the largest category in California, but it shows a +10% Average Retail Price (AVP) decline in the last six months. Between the price declines and the tax and regulatory burdens in the Golden State, many California operators must make operational adjustments to survive.
BDSA’s Rapid Retail Sales Tracking is available across BDSA’s 12 tracked U.S. markets (Ariz., Calif., Colo., Fla., Ill., Mass., Md., Mich., Mo., Nev., Ore., and Pa.).
