Shopping for the winter holidays kicks into high gear during November. There are a variety of unofficial retail holidays your dispensary can leverage to bring in more shoppers, make more sales, and reach more new customers.
Though the competition for shoppers’ attention is fierce, the rewards for your efforts are compelling. According to industry reports, retail sales have only increased year-to-year on the days before and after Thanksgiving. Green Wednesday and Black Friday have registered the second and third highest-grossing days in the cannabis industry, following only 4/20, with 20%+ increases in daily dispensary sales.
That means your dispensary can’t afford to cut corners when it comes to your November promotions. Cannabis businesses have an additional advantage for earning extra holiday revenue – Green Wednesday. With just a bit of extra planning, you can easily adjust your Green Wednesday promotions to extend to Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday. Here are 6 ways to get the word out to customers and bring more business to your shop.
Design Your Deals Early – And Let Customers Know
Retailers across all industries are competing for the attention of holiday shoppers, so the earlier you design your dispensary’s holiday promotions, the greater your chance of reaching your target audience. You should begin promoting your Green Wednesday, Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday 2022 sales at least 2 weeks ahead of the first promotion. Remember, the shopping season starts with your first advertisement, and if you plan some of your “Black Friday” deals before or after Black Friday itself, you might even snag some savvy early shoppers.
Make Sure Your Sales Are Well-Advertised
It can be tough for cannabis professionals to secure traditional advertising, like newspapers, TV ads, radio spots, or billboards. That can be a hidden advantage, because traditional advertising during the holidays can be pricey. Instead, your dispensary should focus efforts on social media posts, email and text advertising to your opted-in customer base. You might also use strategic paid social ads, which can be more cost-efficient and less restricted.
Send your first email/text blast and promote your dispensary’s Black Friday 2022 sales on Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, and Instagram starting at least 2 weeks in advance. You’ll want to be consistent and assertive with your promotional posts – but not pushy. 2-3 posts per day will ensure that your posts have reach, but not come off as intrusive.
Work With Vendors And Focus on Moving Excess Stock
Because cannabis products do have expiration dates, holiday sales are an excellent way to move excess stock or products that are nearing expiration while passing some savings along to customers. Before you begin deciding what items you’ll promote and discount for Black Friday 2022, make sure to set aside a day to perform a quick audit of inventory to see what products might move for the season with the right kind of sale.
Wholesale cannabis can be expensive, and often dispensaries have to pass costs along to the customer to stay profitable. But that can work to your advantage during the holidays. This is a good time to touch base with your vendors, because they’re interested in moving overstock or products nearing expiration, too.
This is an easy way that you can offer products that are still high-quality at discounted prices and pass the Black Friday savings down the chain. In exchange, you can offer these vendors in-store sale promotion of their products. Customers get deep discounts on great products, your dispensary shells out less cash to vendors, who receive free in-store promotion and more sales. Talk about a win/win/win all around!
Offer First-Time Shopper Discounts
Holiday sales are a great way to reach the canna-curious, and give customers a way to give cannabis as gifts to friends and loved ones. Social media advertising gives your cannabis business a greater reach, so your Black Friday sales posts and advertisements are likely to reach customers who have never been in a dispensary, but may want to and have been waiting for the right reason. Why not make an exclusive discount the point of entry?
Research data reflects that for dispensaries who participate in Black Friday promotions, roughly half their 30% increase in store traffic were from visitors who were new or first-time customers. By offering an exclusive new or first-time customer discount (which they can receive by opting in to your dispensary email/text marketing), you can create an ongoing customer relationship. Their first purchase will reflect their shopping habits, which you can then use in future campaigns.
Offer Online Exclusives and Curbside Pickup
Everyone loves an exclusive discount, so don’t forget to take care of your established customer base with promotions that reward their loyalty, or promotions that make it easier to shop with you. Since the pandemic, modern shoppers have become comfortable with online shopping and curbside pick-up. In fact, many customers even prefer shopping this way because of the convenience it offers. So why not motivate them more with an exclusive discount for online orders and curbside pickup?
Online exclusives won’t ever replace doorbuster deals, but keep in mind that not every customer wants to come inside. Lines can be long at dispensaries, and most cannabis shops limit the number of shoppers inside the store. With online payments and curbside pickups, you can make things easier on your budtenders while giving customers the option to skip the line and still get a great deal.
Give Customers The Checkout Experience They Want With Paybotic
Once you’ve spent the time to carefully design your dispensary’s Black Friday 2022 deals, the last thing you want to do is frustrate shoppers, whose tensions will be running higher during the holiday bustle. Paying cash is a hassle for customers, a risk for your business, and it limits the amount of money your customers can spend.
Online shoppers want to be ready to just pick up their products, without having to hit an ATM first. In-store shoppers want an easy way to pay, without having to fork over extra ATM fees to take out more cash. And you want customers to have the ability to add-on impulse purchase, accessories, gift cards, and high-ticket items.
By going cashless, you give your customers another holiday treat – a frictionless checkout experience that makes them want to keep coming back to your dispensary in 2023. It’s not too late to get started – contact a Paybotic agent today, and get yourself positioned to have the best Black Friday ever.
