What cannabis retailers need to do to prepare for the 4/20 rush

By midmorning on April 20, cannabis retailers’ busiest day of the year, lines are already out the door. Inside, staffers are moving as quickly as they can as they juggle tasks: checking stock, answering questions and filling pickup and delivery orders.

Soon, a would-be return customer trudges past the line, empty-handed after the doorbuster that lured them in sells out. Another gives up and walks out after standing in line too long – and with them goes revenue, never to return.

A major event for the cannabis industry and overall legalization movement, 4/20 is also “an operational stress test” for retailers, Steph Vrona, a marketing operations expert and the founder of consultancy High Def Studio, told MJBizDaily.

And the retailers that “win” at 4/20 aren’t the ones with the steepest discounts. They’re the ones who have the processes in place to meet demand while also maximizing 4/20’s impact for the rest of the year.

“The stores that do best on 4/20 aren’t usually the ones with the steepest markdowns,” said Chase Jepson, product manager at Treez cannabis retail commerce platform.

“They’re the ones with a thoughtful plan for what to promote, how to promote it and how to move people through the store efficiently.”

Here’s what cannabis retailers need to put in place in time for the 4/20 weekend – and well before the day itself on Monday.

What is 4/20 and how can a retailer get ready?

People are buying cannabis on 4/20. That’s guaranteed: demand over the 4/20 holiday weekend outpaced a typical Saturday-Sunday by 48%, according to Flowhub data.

Some retailers prepare for 4/20 as if it’s a promotion when in reality it’s more of a “systems event,” observers told MJBizDaily.

Bottlenecks start at the door, when new customers are ID’d and entered into the system. POS and inventory management systems lag under the pressure of high volume.

If something goes wrong and a key link in the system goes down, operators can’t expect a reactive fix, Jepson said.

Operators need to confirm that their POS systems, payment terminals, e-commerce platforms and kiosks’ functionality are verified  before the weekend begins. And every staff member must be familiar and comfortable using them.

What should a cannabis retailer stock on 4/20?

Running out of a promoted product mid-rush is one of the most damaging failures a store can have on 4/20, experts say.

Operators can prepare and pivot with two simple protections, said Sandra Bergman, founder of ESBE LLC and former director of marketing at Schwazze.

Always have a comparable backup if a promoted item sells out, a

Use “while supplies last” language on high-demand products. This sets expectations and creates urgency without overpromising.

How cannabis retailers can handle a long line

Every cannabis store will have a line on 4/20. Aggressive discounts won’t set your operation apart – every competitor is running them.

What customers remember is how the experience felt.

“If the experience is bad, your killer deal will be a footnote on a bad review,” Vrona said.

Vrona suggests letting customers check in before they’re sent to explore brand activations, demos, or games. Then, when earlier arrivals are served, the newer customers are notified to join a much shorter purchase line.

Customers waiting in line are rewarded by what Vrona calls “line busters”: staff or brand ambassadors who work the queue, hyping customers up, handing out swag and keeping the energy up.

Last year, Vrona handed out scratch cards to everyone in line. Every card was a winner.

Prizes included same-day discounts on top of existing deals, extra products, points or future discounts.

The line was long, but it didn’t feel that way.

How can cannabis operators keep a 4/20 crowd moving?

Managing the wait is only half the equation. Once customers are inside, the experience lives or dies on what happens at the floor level.

Operators should embrace online ordering. Buying ahead spreads demand across the weekend, locks in revenue, and opens up space on the sales floor.

However, retailers need to make sure they have the infrastructure to support it.

“If a preorder customer has to wait in the same line as everyone else, you’ve eliminated the incentive for both parties,” Jepson said.

Retailers should ensure they have a dedicated express pickup lane to make online ordering worth building around.

At the register, customers will spend more and move through quicker with cash alternatives.

There are also a few predictable issues that retailers can prepare for, Jepson said:

• Decision paralysis. 4/20 sees many new first-time customers who may cost a retailer time and revenue deciding what to buy. Retailers Pre-built bundles cut decision time fast.
• Keep the bundles obvious, with key staples like an eighth of flower, papers and a lighter. Or a pack of prerolls and some edibles. A simpler bundle leads to a faster transaction.
• Budtenders starting too low. Not every customer is price shopping. Some are there to splurge, try something new or buy for a group, Bergman said. Budtenders should read the customer before defaulting to the deepest discount.
• New customers leaving without a connection. Bergman flags the ID check-in desk as one of the most underused enrollment moments in the store. Assign that person the task of signing customers up for loyalty programs before they ever reach the floor.

The real opportunity is what happens after 4/20

The traffic spike is only valuable if you capture it. Every new customer who leaves without opting into your email or text communications is a missed opportunity.

Bergman recommends having automated welcome flows already running before 4/20, so new customers are captured and automatically communicated with.

For returning customers, Vrona’s approach is double points throughout the holiday week, with a catch: Those bonus points expire sooner than usual, giving customers a strong reason to come back in and spend them right when traffic would normally fall off.

First-time visitors get a different treatment. Vrona hands them an IOU card letting them take the big holiday discounts on their first visit, with their new-customer reward waiting when they return.

They don’t feel like they missed out. They feel like they scored twice.

Discounts will always be part of 4/20. But precise execution is what separates a lasting boost from a fumbled opportunity.

Retailers come out ahead if they’ve built for the surge before it arrived and had a plan to handle it – and build the infrastructure to convert the surge to year-long sales already running.