Do extended hours mean extra revenue for cannabis retailers? It depends.

Key points:

• Cannabis retailers are boosting revenue by staying open longer.
• Some stores have significantly increased sales, but not every time of day means an automatic boost.
• Licensed marijuana stores are using data from Headset and Dutchie to determine appropriate hours and staffing to maximize profit.

In response to declining cannabis prices and subsequent decreases in sales revenue, cannabis retailers across the country are experimenting with extended hours.

Meanwhile, others are using detailed sales data – including which hours capture more customers – to determine whether staying open longer means enough business to justify the added labor and operating costs, several operators told MJBizDaily.

Nationally, there’s limited demand for late-night legal cannabis sales, according to data from technology platform Dutchie and analytics firm Headset, which prepared an analysis for MJBizDaily. But retailers in certain markets say that extended hours can pay off, suggesting cannabis store owners can benefit by carefully analyzing what days – and times of day – offer extra profit.

“We examine each added hour as its own operating period,” said Raul Molina, co-founder and chief operating officer of Mint Cannabis, a retailer with locations in six states.

Should cannabis stores be open 24 hours?

For example, after extending hours at its Paradise Road store in Las Vegas to 24 hours – an operational perk few other jurisdictions across the country offer by law – Mint saw monthly sales increase 22% in the first month, Molina said.

For cannabis stores in areas where regulators mandate when sales can begin and end, extended hours may still offer a benefit. Social Dispensary saw revenue double when it added 28 extra operating hours per week at its Louisville, Colorado, location.

But Headset data shows Nevada is distinct from other U.S. cannabis markets. Only two states allow 24-hour sales: Nevada and New Mexico. In Nevada, 12% of transactions occurred between 9 p.m. and midnight. Another 3.6% of sales were rang up between midnight and 5 a.m., according to the Headset analysis.

Outside of Nevada, Headset found only 4.8% sales occur between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. And less than 1% of daily sales occur after 10 p.m., when only about 8% of stores are open, according to Dutchie.

When should cannabis stores open and close to maximize revenue?

In Mint’s case, the decision to stay open 24 hours came after market research.

The company examined transactions around opening and closing times and considered customer feedback. Mint also looked at  tourism and hospitality schedules -and weighed demand from customers working nontraditional hours.

After the first monthly bump, sales slowed somewhat but still increased 18%, according to Molina.

The added hours now account for about 15% of the location’s total monthly transactions.

Social Dispensary operates nine stores in Colorado and one location in New Jersey.  They keep their stores open for the maximum hours allowed.

That meant bumping hours at Louisville from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. to the maximum allowed by law: 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.. 

“Limiting hours limits the revenue potential for the location,” said Johari Rahim, Social’s chief marketing officer.

To keep costs low, Social determines staffing by how many customers it sees per hour rather than revenue.

When do cannabis customers make the biggest purchases?

National data shows longer hours don’t deliver the same results in every market.

Transaction volume peaked at 5 p.m., while average basket size peaked at $54.82 at 10 a.m., according to a Headset analysis of transactions between January-July 2026.

By 11 p.m., average basket size dropped to about $30.90, when transaction volume was close to a daily low.

Dutchie’s data showed a similar pattern, with average basket sizes reaching about $70 between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. before dropping to $44 later at night.

There is evidence, however, that consumers are gradually shopping later.

Dutchie’s data showed late-night shopping increasing from 3.1% of daily sales in the first quarter of 2025 to 4.4% in the second quarter of 2026.

Headset found a similar shift. Off-peak transaction share increased from 5.6% in January-July 2024 to 6.5% during the same period in 2026.

However, that increase was driven by the 9 p.m.-midnight period rather than overnight shopping.

How should cannabis retailers adjust their opening hours to meet demand?

Kaya Bliss, a New York cannabis retailer that operates two locations in south Brooklyn, examined sales and customer behavior before extending  operating hours.

Originally, the dispensary was open from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m., but customers lining up before opening prompted the retailer to begin opening at 9 a.m.

Friday and Saturday hours were extended until midnight after the retailer saw a spike in customers arriving near closing. An increase in Thursday night traffic prompted another extension until midnight.

Kaya Bliss now operates from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday-Wednesday and until midnight Thursday-Saturday,  according to co-founder and owner Edgar Kleydman.

Other operators have responded to hourly demand by adjusting staffing to meet demand rather than store hours.

NatureMed, which operates cannabis stores in Missouri, Arizona and Kentucky, tracks hourly sales and transactions and compares those numbers with revenue, labor and other operating costs.

The company decided to maintain consistent store hours while adjusting staffing according to anticipated traffic, said Myles Mayfield, NatureMed’s head of marketing.

Do extended hours mean more profit for cannabis retailers?

But added sales alone don’t tell retailers if longer hours are worthwhile. They also need to know if gross profit covers the cost of staying open later..

“The real question is not simply whether an hour generates sales,” said Chris Kulian, founder of Manhattan-based retailer Stoops.

“It is whether the gross profit from those sales justifies the incremental cost of remaining open.’

Stoops decided earlier mornings and some late off-peak hours are less consistent than afternoons and evenings. To determine whether an off-peak hour warrants full staffing, the store uses a benchmark of five or six transactions, or about $250-$300 in sales.

“Ultimately, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach,” Dutchie’s Levi Bowles said.

“The right strategy depends on the market and community each retailer serves.”