Take Control & Effectively Handle The Holiday Rush

Weed Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving. You remember the rush, the craziness, and the need for weed. Customers rushing in to grab some last-minute goodies to get them through their typical family Turkey Thursday. A day focused on food, family, friends, and togetherness, turned into “what are you doing with your life now? Have you seen so and so on the news lately?” Been there, done that. Definitely did not enjoy it. But hey, thanks to those discrete goodies from our favorite cannabis retailers, it still turned out to be a great Danksgiving.

And then there was Black Friday, also known as Green Friday in our industry. The kickoff for tremendous shopping opportunities in traditional retail stores. Black Friday recalls shoppers joining the frenzy of being trampled as the doors open, waiting in long lines (sometimes in the freezing cold), and displaying the less friendly version of ourselves as we rip a garment out of the hands of a fellow shopper, with our winner take all attitude just to save a few bucks. While these retail holidays may not be quite as treacherous as I’ve just described, their entire purpose is to drive traffic to retailers through special deals and discounts. Cannabis retailers are also rolling out the green carpet to kick off the holiday season for consumers with Weed Wednesday and Green Friday.

Thanksgiving week is one of the most profitable times for cannabis retailers outside of 4/20.Weed Wednesday and Green Friday are ideal opportunities to boost sales asconsumers prepare for Thanksgiving, and the proof is in the reporting from our friends at Headset and Marijuana Business Daily. Data for sales in Seattle on Green Wednesday increased by 63% when compared to average Wednesdays. Additionally, for recreational stores inCalifornia, Colorado, Nevada and Washington, sales were $6.8 million higher than the typical Wednesday.

Our favorite way to make it through any holiday, is through the practice of discrete consumptions(i.e. edibles, chews, mints and drinks) which can be consumed throughout the celebration undetected, which explains beverage sales increasing to 101% and edibles increasing 85%. Additionally, the week of Thanksgiving kicks off the holiday season and while consumers may be discrete on Thanksgiving Day, they may partake in consuming products that are less discrete post-Thanksgiving Day.Stores in California and Washington experience increased sales in recreational and medical marijuana stores for extracts and concentrates of 159%, 101%increase for flower, and 71% increase for edibles on Black Friday compared to typical Friday sales. This insight gives retailers and dispensary operators the leg up on how to engage and connect with their customers during a critical holiday week, while increasing sales and revenue. A tip from your pals at GreenScreens; you can effectively manage these discrete products which your consumers are after (that have an expiration date) by pushing these products during this peak week resulting in a happy customer and maintained margins on products that could otherwise be penny’d out.

Cannabis retailers have gotten a good idea of how crazy things can get during the holidays, but don’t worry, we’re here to help.

With the holiday season quickly approaching, it’s important for retailers to prepare with staffing, product discounts and messaging. GreenScreens has you covered when it comes to messaging! Your best bet to avoiding lines for customers, starting the purchasing process in the waiting room, and sharing store announcements and promotions for the main event is to utilize your GreenScreens TV’s. Our platform helps you spread the word and keep your budtenders and staff focused on the transaction and product pull-through rather than answering questions about the available promotions, deals and products on hand.

However you choose to celebrate your holiday season, your GreenScreens family is sending you warm, heartfelt wishes from our home to yours.

‍