Preparing Your Cannabis Dispensary for 420

With 420 around the corner and pandemic restrictions still in effect, retailers can expect to see a boost in their ecommerce sales as customers stock up to celebrate.

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Take advantage of these high-traffic days by ensuring that your dispensary is set up for success. Here are 6 ways to ensure your dispensary gets the most out of this year's 420.

1. Prepare for increased traffic

We all know that 420 is the busiest cannabis shopping days of the year, so preparing for increased foot traffic as early as possible will save you from potential headaches as the big day gets closer. Here are a few of our recommended best practices:

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• Depending on your location, consider offering extended hours to give customers more time for in-store pickups without overloading your staff.
• Allow customers to pre-order their products for the next day with after-hours ordering, and use these pre-orders to plan for future demand.
• Allow customers to schedule orders in advance for pickup and delivery, and set maximum order limits so your staff can easily manage order fulfillment.

2. Pick the right products

Picking the right products for your menu, especially on 420, is both an art and a science. A few good methods you can use to pick the right products include:

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• Look at your historical sales data to understand what product categories were most popular last 420, and throughout the year.
• Leverage your product and brand analytics to find products with lagging sale revenues, and give them a boost with a seasonal special.

3. Organize your digital shelves

You probably see strong sales when you put care into organizing products on your in-store shelves, and the same opportunity exists on your digital shelves. You can elevate your digital shelves with a few simple updates:

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• Increase the visibility of your 420 product deals by customizing their placement on your menus. Dutchie retailers can do this by creating custom homepage sections or by embedding homepage sections directly onto your store website.
• Personalize the experience by creating a custom digital shelf for your staff’s favorite products. Having this stamp of approval will build trust in the product brand.
• If you have an assigned online menu specialist at your store, ensure they are using high-quality images that show off products and their packaging to quickly attract customer attention.
• Customers appreciate accurate potency information. Be sure to verify that the potencies for each product entered into your POS system are correct. Any adjustments will automatically sync with your online menu.

4. Create promotions

Flower and pre-rolls are go-to favorites every year, and 2021 will be no different. Bulk deals on these items are sure to draw a crowd. That said, if you’re looking to spice up your promotional offers and stand out from competitors, here are a few tips to ensure that you're marketing the right products:

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• Use your marketing analytics to understand how specials performed in the past. Repeat high-converting specials, and discontinue or change any low performers.
• Reach a wider audience and grow basket sizes with promotional specials that reward customers based on their purchases. This may include conditional offers, bulk purchases, and product bundles. Pro tip: our data shows that customers who redeem promotional offers spend 41% more on average!
• Target specific customer audiences with marketing campaigns that are tailored to them based on order history, demographics, product preferences, and more.
• Provide your staff with coupon codes that they can use to offer one-time (or multi-use) discounts to drive more menu traffic, and ideally to encourage repeat business.
• While cannabis product giveaways might not be realistic due to compliance rules, free paraphernalia and accessories always receive a warm welcome from customers!

5. Support your customers

In these challenging times, retailers need to ensure that they can efficiently support their customers both in-store and online. Providing a safe and easy shopping experience ensures that your customers enjoy a frictionless 420. Here are some great ways you can provide superior customer support:

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• Increase your in-store staffing in the days leading up to 420 to ensure that every customer is getting help, and that traffic flows smoothly.
• Use QR codes on in-store display cases or as window posters to assist with social distancing requirements, and allow customers to create orders directly from their mobile device.
• Leverage mobile kiosks and allow customers to make orders from the store floor.
• Print, laminate, and disinfect paper menus for those waiting in line.
• Utilize messaging services to help customers with order changes, product substitutes, or special instructions.

6. Measure your results

Never forget that the proof is in the green. Use your data to guide what's working week after week, including those leading up to and following 420. Your analytics can help inform future holiday sales. Here are a few different things you'll want to keep track of:

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• Keep a close eye on your ecommerce conversions, and abandoned carts so you can re-target these customers with follow-up discounts and rewards.
• Make full use of UTM tracking so you can understand which marketing channels are generating not just the most eyeballs, but the most revenue.
• Generate customer reports to understand how your consumer audiences may be changing through each season, such as product preferences, popular order types, average spend, and more.

Looking for more tips? Dutchie customers can contact their Customer Success Manager at success@dutchie.com to gain more knowledge.

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If you're not a Dutchie customer, click here to schedule a demo of the leading platform in cannabis ecommerce.

Get more tips in our 420 Guide for Cannabis Retail

Preparation, planning, and starting earlier are the keys to a successful 420. Our annual 420 Guide for Cannabis Retailers should cover most of what you need to know for this year’s upcoming sale events. You'll find best practices for:

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• Making inventory decisions
• Creating deals & discounts
• Marketing your dispensary
• Optimizing fulfillment workflows
• Preparing and supporting staff
• Handling cannabis returns

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We hope our 2023 guide puts you and your team in a better position to succeed during the biggest cannabis sales day of the year!

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If this is your first 420, treat it as a learning experience. Stay motivated and ambitious, set realistic expectations—and remember to enjoy the ride.

About Dutchie

Dutchie is the leading technology partner for cannabis retailers of all sizes. With a range of solutions covering point of sale, payments, ecommerce, insurance, and more, Dutchie empowers dispensaries to run efficiently, scale their operation easily, stay compliant, and offer outstanding experiences to the customers who rely on them.

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Request a demo today.