Akerna Flash Report: Curbside Orders Soar as Restrictions Ease in Nevada

DENVER, May 08, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Business intelligence from Akerna (Nasdaq: KERN), a leading compliance technology provider and developer of the cannabis industry’s first seed-to-sale enterprise resource planning (ERP) software technology (MJ Platform®) shows pickup as a fulfillment method in Nevada increased to 67% of total sales on May 7. 
The state eased restrictions on curbside pickup as a fulfillment method late last week. Before restrictions being lifted, recreation sales in the state declined 56% when compared to the rest of the recreational market’s average decline of only 1%. On March 21, when communities started to realize the full effect of travel bans and shelter in place orders, recreational cannabis sales in Nevada dropped to a year low.“When governor Steve Sisolak announced the state is allowing curbside pickup of marijuana products at Nevada dispensaries starting Friday, May 1, we started watching to see if it would help sales in the state increase,” said Ryan Ballman business intelligence engineer, Akerna. “Over the weekend, pick up as a fulfillment method surged from 3% to 47% of total sales.”In the state of Nevada, since curbside became an easier fulfillment option, the number of daily pickup orders have soared 2,746%. Overall, total daily sales in the state have increased 20% compared to April.“While total sales have not seen dramatic increases, what is interesting is the rapid adoption of this fulfillment method for the state,” said Ballman. “Another interesting point from the data is most of the pickup orders have been on the recreational side, accounting for 95% of those orders. Not many medical customers seem to have taken advantage of curbside pickup.”Nationwide, 17 states and the District of Columbia allow curbside pickup for cannabis. Throughout the pandemic, alternative fulfillment methods like delivery and pickup have seen steady growth. Business intelligence from Akerna also shows, year-over-year, April 2019 to April 2020, recreational cannabis spending is up with a 39% increase in ticket size. The ticket size for the under 30 age group also increased by 49%.  As the industry evolves to meet customer needs, product pickup as a fulfillment method increased 541%, accounting for 15% of total sales.Over the weekend:The average recreational ticket size nationwide (excluding NV): $75.38The average recreational ticket size in Nevada: $108.41**The Numbers, Year-over-Year, April 2020 compared to April 2019:Total cannabis sales increased 68%, with an average ticket size of $123. Top categories:Concentrates increased 22%, accounting for 11% of total product salesCartridges / Pens increased 3%, accounting for 35% of total product salesInfused Edibles decreased 18%, accounting for 9% of total product salesFlower maintained, accounting for 43% of total product salesMJ Freeway is more than software as a service. Its flagship solution, MJ Platform now includes Platform Insights. Now operators, investors, and regulators can access the industry’s largest, and most statistically-relevant database to drive data-driven business decisions.Platform Insights provides:The greatest statistical relevance across countriesNormalized data (not farmed from various disparate POS platforms)Full cannabis supply chain dataBusiness insights founded in category management methodologyPlatform Insights can eliminate the guesswork and provide answers to questions like:What is the gross margin return on inventory?What SKUs should be carried?How do basket adjacencies influence discounting and retention strategies?What does a medical market look like a year or five years after decriminalizing cannabis?Click here for more information about Platform Insights.About AkernaAkerna is a global regulatory compliance technology company. Akerna’s service offerings include MJ Platform®, Leaf Data Systems®, and solo sciences tech platform. Since its establishment in 2010, Akerna has tracked more than $18 billion in cannabis sales. Akerna is based in Denver. For more information, please visit www.akerna.com and follow us on Twitter @AkernaCorp.About The Akerna Flash ReportFlash Report is a look at buying trends in the cannabis market as captured by Akerna’s MJ Freeway subsidiary. MJ Freeway provides operators with MJ Platform, the industry-leading solution for regulatory compliance technology, from seed-to-sale-to-self. Some instances of the flash report may include business intelligence derived from Akerna’s family of companies, including Ample Organics, Leaf Data Systems, solo sciences, and Trellis.**Data is derived from MJ Platform, the leading provider of cannabis compliance software for the marijuana industry. Reporting data is obtained from operators using Akerna’s MJ Platform solutions. Increases are relative to the prior period. Additional business intelligence data sources may include proprietary tools used by Akerna’s family of companies.Forward-Looking StatementsCertain statements made in this release are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. When used in this press release, the words “estimates,” “projected,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “forecasts,” “plans,” “intends,” “believes,” “seeks,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “future,” “propose” and variations of these words or similar expressions (or the negative versions of such words or expressions) are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements include but are not limited to statements regarding sustained increases in demand for cannabis and the ability of the MJ Platform team to help operators make decisions through analytics and reporting. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, conditions or results, and involve a number of significant known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions, and other important factors, many of which are outside Akerna’s control, that could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. Important factors, among others that may affect actual results or outcomes, include (i) Akerna’s ability to maintain relationships with customers and suppliers and retain its management and key employees, (ii) changes in applicable laws or regulations, (iii) changes in the market place due to the coronavirus pandemic or other market factors, (iv) and other risks and uncertainties disclosed from time to time in Akerna’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including those under “Risk Factors” therein.  You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. All information herein speaks only as of the date hereof, in the case of information about Akerna, or the date of such information, in the case of information from persons other than Akerna. Akerna undertakes no duty to update or revise the information contained herein. Forecasts and estimates regarding Akerna’s industry and end markets are based on sources believed to be reliable; however, there can be no assurance these forecasts and estimates will prove accurate in whole or in part.A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/f53ff56f-3a16-48b9-90b8-6f840739b62a