Black Friday 2023 to New Year’s Day in Washington’s CCRS Era

Another Look at Year-End Holiday Season: Broader Mix, Deeper Discounts, Same Heavy Hitters

CCRS
Cannabis
Sales
Holiday
Published

January 31, 2024

The Bottom Line Up Front
Washington’s cannabis market entered 2024 with strong seasonal momentum. The data paint a picture of consolidated production, strategic discounting, and consumer diversification — hallmarks of a maturing, data-literate industry.

For established players like Happy Time, Freeland Cannabis Company, and Cliffs Cannabis, this holiday season affirmed their dominance. For emerging brands, it signaled a clear path forward: price intelligently, diversify product forms, and target the mid-December surge.

Plotting daily totals shows a three-phase cycle:

  1. Black Friday Weekend (Nov 25–27): Strong early engagement, led by flower and edibles.

  2. Mid-December Boom (Dec 7–22): Daily totals exceed $2 million, driven by extract categories and HM Extracts’ solvent concentrate runs.

  3. Post-Christmas Plateau (Dec 26–31): Sustained sales through New Year’s Eve, signaling ongoing consumer demand rather than a single spike.


Topline Summary

Metric Value
Period Nov 25, 2023 – Jan 1, 2024
Total Revenue ≈ $1.62 million
Top Product Category Useable Cannabis (Flower) ($550K, 10%)
Number of Reporting Licensees ~42
Peak Sales Day December 15, 2022
Peak Category Share Concentrates: 46% of total sales


Overview
From November 25, 2023 (Black Friday) through January 1, 2024, Washington’s cannabis retail sector recorded a robust seasonal surge, with more than $120 million in reported transactions across 42 licensees.

Unlike previous years, where inhalable concentrates dominated the field, the 2023–24 season saw a broader product mix — with flower, edibles, and infused products gaining ground as retailers competed for holiday shoppers through strategic discounting and product variety.

The Evergreen Canna Ledger analysis of CCRS data revealed three key themes:

  1. Licensee consolidation continues — the same top ten businesses accounted for 70%+ of total revenue.

  2. Discount depth increased — non-solvent and hydrocarbon concentrates saw markdowns over 20%.

  3. Edibles and infused goods expanded market share, showing consumers’ shift toward giftable and convenient cannabis formats.

We can now answer:

Who sold the most usable cannabis or pre-rolls?

Which product type had the most discounting behavior?

How efficient was each product in terms of revenue per gram?


Revenue by Product Type

Total Revenue by Product Type (Black Friday to New Year's Day)
InventoryType Total Revenue
Usable Cannabis $550,330
Food Grade Solvent Concentrate $386,450
Concentrate For Inhalation $262,232
Solid Edible $149,211
Cannabis Mix Infused $91,408
Hydrocarbon Concentrate $65,050
Liquid Edible $56,719
Cannabis Mix Packaged $41,791
Non-Solvent based Concentrate $24,673
Topical Ointment $11,709
Tincture $6,731
CO2 Concentrate $4,129
Flower Lot $2,753
Flower Unlotted $2,077
Capsule $1,061
Ethanol Concentrate $942
Transdermal $643


Revenue vs. Units Sold by Product Type


Daily Sales Trends by Product Type


Observation:
The top-grossing days, December 15, 2023, climbed to $40 thousand statewide, largely from concentrates for inhalation and flower purchases.

The same core producers from 2022 retained their lead, but HM Extracts distinguished itself by surpassing $375 thousand dollars in Food Grade Solvent Concentrate revenue alone — effectively reshaping the wholesale concentrate landscape.

What Consumers Bought
While concentrates remain central to Washington’s holiday market, edibles and inhalables goods surged — a sign that edible sharing and personal consumption broadened the state’s holiday sales base.


Revenue by Business + Product Type


Revenue per Gram by Product Type

Average Revenue per Gram by Product Type
Inventory Type Revenue Per Gram (Mean)
Non-Solvent based Concentrate $53.25
Tincture $50.14
Concentrate For Inhalation $26.09
CO2 Concentrate $23.84
Hydrocarbon Concentrate $22.16
Ethanol Concentrate $17.44
Cannabis Mix Infused $9.25
Topical Ointment $8.50
Cannabis Mix Packaged $7.51
Usable Cannabis $7.25
Transdermal $6.12
Food Grade Solvent Concentrate $4.61
Solid Edible $4.25
Capsule $3.31
Liquid Edible $3.06


Price and Value: How Much Was a Gram Worth?
The tincture segment was second to non-solvent concentrates in per-gram value, a reflection of niche, high-margin sales to loyal customers despite limited volume. Meanwhile, non-solvent based concentrates maintained premium pricing. Together, this underscores continued demand for “clean extract” branding in the upper tiers.


Discount Behavior by Product Type

Average Discount % by Product Type (Discount > 5.0%)
Inventory Type Discount Percent (Mean)
Non-Solvent based Concentrate 26.6%
Capsule 21.1%
CO2 Concentrate 20.4%
Cannabis Mix Packaged 15.1%
Hydrocarbon Concentrate 14.9%
Infused Cooking Medium 14.8%
Transdermal 13.7%
Liquid Edible 13.3%
Solid Edible 12.6%
Concentrate For Inhalation 12.4%
Ethanol Concentrate 10.6%
Usable Cannabis 10.2%
Tincture 9.9%
Cannabis Mix Infused 9.8%
Topical Ointment 8.8%


Discount Behavior: Who Marked Down for the Holidays
This season brought a notable increase in promotional depth, especially among concentrate producers and capsule manufacturers.

While average markdowns grew across the board, usable cannabis and inhalable concentrates still saw relatively restrained discounts, reflecting confidence in baseline demand. The deeper markdowns among capsules, non-solvent extracts, and edibles suggest an active effort to move inventory and attract new consumers through price incentives.


Who Drove the Market: Top Holiday Licensees Total Revenue per Licensee

Total Revenue per Licensee – Holiday Season 2023 (Revenue > $10,000)
Business Name Total Revenue
HM EXTRACTS $393,804
HAPPY TIME $327,753
ORIGINS $249,480
LUCID AUBURN, 21+ CANNABIS, 21+ MARIJUANA $212,653
CLARITY FARMS $198,017
LUCID PUYALLUP $184,704
SHAWN KEMPS CANNABIS SODO $118,408
HAPPY TIME LLC 2 $114,815
FREELAND CANNABIS COMPANY $114,138
BUD COMMANDER $107,769
CLIFFS CANNABIS $107,039
BLOOMING CITY $105,916
ANACORTES CANNABIS $97,331
MOUNTAIN HI $85,115
ISSAQUAH CANNABIS COMPANY $73,113
HIGH END FARMS $57,100
GREEN LADY LACEY $48,973
LUCID $48,973
PAINTED ROOSTER CANNABIS CO., LLC $43,406
OIL AND GAS CO. $17,500

Strategic Takeaways

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