Marijuana Business Factbook 2019

240 Marijuana Business Factbook 2019 Chapter 5 | Financial & Operational Data: Retailers © Copyright 2020, Marijuana Business Daily , a division of Anne Holland Ventures Inc. You may NOT copy this Factbook, or make public the data and facts contained herein, in part or in whole. For more copies or editorial permissions, contact CustomerService@MJBizDaily.com or call (720) 213-5992, ext. 1. CHART 5.12: Colorado, Washington State & Oregon’s Recreational Marijuana Markets: Retail Sales Percent Change Vs. Previous Year Source: Colorado Department of Revenue, Headset, Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission © 2019 Marijuana Business Daily, a division of Anne Holland Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Colorado, Washington State & Oregon's Recreational Marijuana Markets: Retail Sales Percent Change Vs. Previous Year 2015 2016 2017 2018 2016 2017 2018 2017 2018 90.5% 49.2% 26.6% 11.2% 94.3% 32.8% 9.7% 63.4% 26.4% Oregon Colorado Washington State Although sales in recreational marijuana markets have continued to increase year-over-year, sales growth is slowing as markets reach maturity. In Colorado, sales nearly doubled between 2014 and 2015, but the growth rate has declined by about 50% each year since. Fewer years of sales data exist for Washington state and Oregon, but a similar trend is evident. This is an expected and natural development. As these markets came online, huge numbers of consumers shifted from the illegal market to the legal market, creating significant growth in initial sales figures. But most illegal-market consumers planning to make that shift have already done so in the more mature markets. Finding completely new consumers is a much more difficult and slow endeavor, especially given regulatory constraints on marketing and advertising. The bottom line: Retailers will experience a period of relatively easy growth as a new market develops, but growth will eventually slow. This will force retailers to become more operationally efficient in order to maintain profitability as growth cools.