Black Friday is the traditional biggest retail shopping day of the year, as people get their Christmas shopping done. Green Wednesday is the day before Thanksgiving, which is one of the biggest shopping days of the year for cannabis dispensaries. These two days together are massive days for cannabis product sales, and any dispensaries offer deals, discounts, and promotions to capitalize on consumer shopping patterns.
What are some ways you can prepare your dispensary for maximum sales in the last week of November? We’ve compiled a checklist of best practices so you can have a successful Green Wednesday and Black Friday.
Strategic Sales Promotions
Many cannabis dispensaries offer promotions designed to increase customer spend during the Green Wednesday/Black Friday holiday. One way is to offer a higher discount on larger orders, for example 5% off on fifty dollars and 10% off on 100 dollars.
You can also create custom bundles of different product types at a special promotional price. Example: flower, pre-rolls, and edible in a bundle.
Plan Your Inventory Ahead of Time
To maximize your sales, you must have adequate inventory on hand before the sales event gets close. Partner with reliable suppliers and order early! Focus on your best-selling products and make sure you won’t run out during a sales rush. Don’t forget upsells! Talk to your budtenders and have a plan for suggesting complementary products with each cannabis order.
Launch Marketing for Green Wednesday Early
Planning for Green Wednesday sales starts a few months before the sales event. Coordinating your email marketing, social media posts, and text based marketing should be done long before Thanksgiving rolls around. Set up your emails and have them finalized for delivery well in advance of Green Wednesday. Plan and schedule your social media posts so they reach your target audience at appropriate days and times. Customers need reminders that you are offering sales on Green Wednesday, so don’t feel like you are overdoing it.
Black Friday Will Also Be Big
Most people are shopping online during Black Friday, so they will also order online for delivery (where available) or stop by your dispensary to pick up an order. Make sure you are well staffed for the day after Thanksgiving.
Train Your Staff and Budtenders
Working in a retail job during a busy holiday or weekend can be especially stressful, due to the high volume of customers. Before Green Wednesday arrives, work with your budtenders to review the products, go over any promotions, practice upselling to customers via roleplay, and review customer service practices. Remind them to focus on the current customer and give them your full attention.
Focus on Customer Service
Are your budtenders helping your customers find what they are needing? Is your checkout process quick and efficient? Make sure people leave happy, with the products they want to find. You’ll also need to have enough cashiers on hand to make sure people can check out and leave once they find what they are looking for. Getting new customers on Green Wednesday? Offer them a special coupon or special gift for being a first-time customer, it can help build long-term loyalty.
Product Education is Key
Many customers are still learning about cannabis products and which ones are a good fit for them. They are looking to your budtenders for guidance and suggestions. A knowledgeable staff can make informed recommendations to customers.
You can also use interactive product education stations, like the Sensory Station™ to give customers product information, strain info, cost breakdowns, and even reviews.
Post-Sales Analysis
After the sales rush of Green Wednesday and Black Friday, you can collect and analyze data so you can better prepare for next year.
Look at which items and categories sold best. Plan for selling similar items in heavy amounts next year. Take note of which items sold more this year versus last year. These sales trends may continue into the holiday season and the next year.
For any new customers you gained, you can put them on a promotional email list, if they have opted in, so you can offer them the most current deals. Email marketing is an effective way to educate customers about your products and stay at the forefront of their mind with sales and promotions.
You can also ask customers on your email list for feedback on what products they want to see in stock, and your overall customer experience. Using this feedback will allow you to improve your operations.
Get High Quality Cannabis Displays for Your Dispensary
Whether you’re planning for Green Wednesday, 4/20, or a store opening or expansion, Bud Bar Displays designs and manufactures the best dispensary displays in the industry. Our product line will help you highlight and merchandise your cannabis products, improving your customer experience, and potentially boosting sales. If you have a question, or need to place a custom order, call our team at 916.858.2000.
