#Query Monthly Sales, Discount, and Licensee Count
monthly_sales <- dbGetQuery(con, "
WITH base AS (
SELECT
sh.LicenseeId,
DATE_TRUNC('month', CAST(sh.SaleDate AS DATE)) AS Month,
CAST(sd.UnitPrice AS DOUBLE) AS UnitPrice,
CAST(sd.Quantity AS DOUBLE) AS Quantity,
CAST(sd.Discount AS DOUBLE) AS Discount
FROM SalesDetail_all sd
JOIN SaleHeader_all sh ON sd.SaleHeaderId = sh.SaleHeaderId
WHERE DATE(sh.SaleDate) BETWEEN '2021-12-01' AND '2022-12-31'
AND CAST(sd.UnitPrice AS DOUBLE) < 200
)
SELECT
Month,
COUNT(DISTINCT LicenseeId) AS licensee_reporting,
ROUND(SUM(UnitPrice * Quantity), 2) AS total_revenue,
ROUND(SUM(Discount) / NULLIF(SUM(UnitPrice * Quantity), 0) * 100, 2) AS avg_discount_pct
FROM base
GROUP BY Month
ORDER BY Month
")Washington Retail Momentum — Licensee Reporting and Discounting (Dec 2021 - Dec 2022)
How Cannabis Sales and Discounting Evolved in 2022
CCRS
Cannabis
Monthly
Discount
Interpretive Summary
The 2022 trajectory underscores a maturing Washington cannabis retail ecosystem. Rather than relying on steep price competition, most retailers achieved growth through steady CCRS entry and reporting, consistent pricing, and expanding consumer access.
This period marked the state’s first stable data baseline for comparing retail performance trends — setting the stage for 2023’s focus on category-specific and regional dynamics.
Quarterly Observations
Q1 2022: Erratic pricing behavior — February’s 21% average discount spike likely reflected early inventory clearing by smaller operators.
Q2 2022: Stabilization around 5–10% discounts, with moderate sales momentum and 14–18 active licensees.
Q3 2022: Expansion phase — participation exceeded 20 licensees for the first time, paired with steady discount compression to below 3%.
Q4 2022: Strongest revenue quarter of the year, led by November–December growth exceeding $13M monthly. Discount averages returned near zero, signaling high consumer demand despite minimal markdowns.
Licensees Reporting by Month
Figure 1. Monthly Licensee Reporting (Dec 2021–Dec 2022) A simple line plot of licensee reporting count vs. Month shows exponential growth through 2022, peaking at 51 active retailers by year-end.
Total Monthly Revenue
Figure 2. Total Revenue and Average Discount Percent An overlay plot illustrates the inverse relationship between price discounting and sales growth: as discounts narrowed, total revenue rose steadily — suggesting that broad market participation, not aggressive markdowns, was driving sales expansion.
Average Discount % by Month
Figure 3. Total Average Discount Percent by Month An overlay plot illustrates the average discount percent on a monthly basis. As discounts narrowed, total revenue rose steadily — suggesting that markdowns may correlate to THC levels in products or shrewd inventory management during the calendar year. Peak discount rates were found in February and April 2022, then rates trended downward with lowest levels reached in November 2022.
Summary Table
| Month | licensee_reporting | total_revenue | avg_discount_pct |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-12-01 | 10 | $4,552,663 | 1.8% |
| 2022-01-01 | 16 | $10,281,471 | -1.1% |
| 2022-02-01 | 9 | $4,052,783 | 18.8% |
| 2022-03-01 | 17 | $5,092,339 | 3.0% |
| 2022-04-01 | 16 | $2,559,748 | 6.2% |
| 2022-05-01 | 20 | $5,246,710 | 2.3% |
| 2022-06-01 | 19 | $5,399,244 | 2.0% |
| 2022-07-01 | 21 | $11,398,655 | 1.3% |
| 2022-08-01 | 26 | $10,443,103 | 1.7% |
| 2022-09-01 | 28 | $20,019,073 | 0.8% |
| 2022-10-01 | 27 | $28,318,845 | -0.2% |
| 2022-11-01 | 37 | $30,144,273 | -0.8% |
| 2022-12-01 | 53 | $36,309,771 | 0.4% |
Summary Narrative
As Washington’s cannabis market transitioned into 2022, retail reporting and sales volume began to show clear signs of post-pandemic normalization. Using CCRS licensee data aggregated through DuckDB, The Evergreen Canna Ledger tracked monthly sales, total revenue, and average discount levels from December 2021 through December 2022.
At the start of the period — December 2021 — only 8 licensees actively reported sales, generating roughly $2.7 million in total revenue. By December 2022, that number had grown to 51 active licensees and $16.6 million in total monthly revenue — a sixfold increase in participation and over a fivefold increase in sales.
This rapid growth highlights two key dynamics:
Market Expansion: Throughout the first half of 2022, the number of reporting licensees grew from 8 to 18 by May, mirroring the state’s ongoing onboarding of retailers submitting CCRS data consistently. Revenue followed the same trajectory, climbing from $1.5 million in April to over $6.5 million by July.
Discount Normalization: After early volatility — with average discounts swinging between -2% and 21% in the first quarter — retailers converged toward modest markdowns of 0–3% by the end of 2022. This stabilization indicates that price corrections and promotional strategies were maturing as competition intensified.