Super Bowl cannabis sales: by the numbers

Every year, the Super Bowl presents the ultimate opportunity to advertisers across all industries.  While cannabis ads are still banned from the Big Game, it hasn't stopped the category from getting creative with how they can participate. After all, finding loopholes is in every ambitious cannabis advertiser’s DNA. 

Hundreds of thousands of visitors made their way to Arizona – home to one of the country’s biggest adult-use markets – over the weekend. Not just for the Super Bowl, but for the overlapping PGA Tour’s Phoenix Waste Management Open. And it’s no wonder cannabis advertisers jumped at the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to convert a magnitude of new potential customers considering cannabis and CBD consumers are +20% more likely to attend the game in person, according to MRI-Simmons. 

In a recent article from Green Market Report, Fyllo reported that not only did Arizona cannabis advertisers kick off their campaigns a lot earlier this year than last (as early as Feb 1), but they also “geared audience strategies to focus more on tourists and out-of-state visitors, informing them of the availability of legal cannabis in Arizona”. 

Beyond Arizona, cannabis markets nationwide saw promising sales trends over the Super Bowl weekend. 

And according to Fyllo data, Super Bowl Sunday was a big win for cannabis this year: 

• The average basket size on Super Bowl Sunday was $84.61 this year.
• Pre-rolls maintained their status as the top-selling category.
• Dispensary gear category same-store sales were up +20% this year, ranking as the second most popular product category this year. 
• Plants and beverages were the other two standouts, with category same-store sales growing +200% and +39% respectively. 
• In contrast, Topicals, and Edibles category sales were down -36% and -25% this year. Topicals fell two spots in the 8th most popular category of product. Edibles, despite falling, maintained their 4th place ranking among popular product categories.
• 38% of dispensaries experienced YoY increases in Super Bowl sales with East and South cannabis markets boasting the greatest growth uptick. 
• Cannabis sales in Florida grew by +27%, +17% in Maine and +7% in Arkansas. 
• Sales growth was the greatest among the youngest (21-24 years) and eldest age segments (75+) with those groups showing spending increases of +10% and +1% respectively. 

While we wait for the day that cannabis can take the world stage just like beer brands have for decades, operators are wasting no time on marketing efforts to help drive sales for large sporting events with targeted messaging and early promotion. With MLB Opening Day around the corner, we can expect cannabis marketers are getting ready to bat a thousand. 

Get in touch today to learn how Fyllo can help get your business ready for game day.