It’s official: Green Wednesday has officially surpassed Black Friday in terms of dispensary sales. Is your dispo ready?
To kick off the holiday shopping (and marketing) season, NisonCo is sharing ten ideas to help your cannabis dispensary or smoke shop succeed this Green Wednesday and throughout the holiday season.
What is Green Wednesday?
Green Wednesday is the cannabis industry’s name for the sales day before American Thanksgiving. Historically, it’s one of the busiest days of the year for dispensaries (second to 4/20). In 2024, Green Wednesday 2024 will fall on Wednesday, November 27. How can your dispo prepare for the rush of shoppers looking to get stoned this festive season?
1. Refresh Your Holiday Season SEO
You should revitalize your SEO strategy regularly, updating your keywords and backend data to align with search trends. The run-up to holidays or season changes is a great time to do so, and it’s best to start early. Whether you’re looking to increase e-commerce sales or boost your local SEO to entice in-person shoppers, early Autumn is a great time to kick off your holiday SEO strategy since it can take a couple of months to start seeing results.
Don’t want to deal with SEO yourself? Consider working with a cannabis dispensary SEO firm. NisonCo offers SEO packages to suit every business’s needs, whether you want to go all-in on an SEO strategy to start the new year strong or just need seasonal SEO support during your busiest months.
2. Emphasize Cannabis E-Commerce on Cyber Monday
Online shopping is becoming increasingly popular; nearly a quarter of all purchases in 2024 will be made online. Don’t miss out on this valuable customer segment, especially with Cyber Monday coming up! This holiday shopping season, make sure to emphasize e-commerce.
You can capture online shoppers in several ways:
- — Offer online-only deals to cater to tech-savvy consumers.
- — Ensure your site is accessible on all devices — over three-quarters of American adults use their smartphones to make online purchases.
- — Offer flexible shopping options, like buy online and pick up in-store.
3. Get Creative with Cannabis Black Friday Promotions
Green Wednesday might outsell Black Friday, but that doesn’t mean you can’t capitalize on both shopping holidays. After all, Black Friday is the biggest overall shopping holiday of the year. Offer extra-temping deals to encourage customers to brave the crowds and visit your dispensary the day after Thanksgiving.
Or, if you’d rather make a statement, consider running different kinds of Black Friday promotions (or skipping them entirely) to highlight your company’s ethos and challenge consumerism. This strategy can lead to increased business at other times in the holiday shopping season.
4. Spotlight Micro Cannabis Companies on Small Business Saturday
As businesses get bigger, more and more consumers are interested in shopping small. Join the movement by participating in Small Business Saturday on November 30, 2024. If you run a locally-owned dispensary, consider joining small-scale business events in your area on Small Business Saturday to promote your business, tell your brand story, and bring in passionate local shoppers. You can also promote any locally-owned small cannabusinesses you stock in your shop.
Need help spotlighting the exceptional small cannabis cultivators your store sells? Click the image above to connect with NisonCo’s experienced team of cannabis publicists to broadcast your partnerships.
5. Promote Holiday Dispensary Deals on Social Media
Most American adults are active on at least one social media site. Reach your consumers where they are this holiday shopping season by getting active on various social platforms.
Some cannabusinesses might not be able to directly promote products, sales, or special events on social media, depending on the platforms you use and your area’s laws. However, even if you can’t post about specific products, you can still use optimized blogs and social posts to get the word out about your company ahead of Green Wednesday and the holiday shopping rush.
For optimized, impactful content that aligns with your brand voice, consider working with a cannabis content agency like NisonCo. We offer content creation services, social media copywriting, and more to help you get the word out about your cannabusiness.
6. Give Back to the Community on Green Wednesday
Given the cannabis industry’s history of social justice initiatives, Green Wednesday is a great time to encourage customers to give back to the community.
On Green Wednesday, consider running a food drive or donation campaign to support a local food pantry or soup kitchen. You can offer discounts to customers who bring in canned food to donate or even organize a volunteer program yourself. Either way, you’ll be able to bring in customers and do good for your community at the same time.
7. Award Limited-Release Freebies With Each Purchase
Freebies might be the only thing customers like more than cannabis. Consider giving out free gifts to in-store or online shoppers to encourage people to purchase on Green Wednesday. Whether you give out a t-shirt to the first 50 customers or offer a free preroll with purchases over a certain dollar amount, freebies are a tried-and-true way to get customers into the store and get them excited about making a purchase.
8. Offer Thanksgiving-Themed Cannabis Bundles
Bundles can also be a fun and convenient way to cater to customers on Green Wednesday. Many cannabis consumers visit the dispensary to stock up on essentials for their Thanksgiving (or Friendsgiving, or “Danksgiving”) celebrations. Why not make it easy for them to grab everything they need?
Get creative with the bundles you offer this Green Wednesday!
- — Look at past sales data to see what types of products typically sell best on Green Wednesday and ahead of holidays, and put together a bestsellers bundle.
- — Bundle holiday-themed edibles — anything pumpkin-, apple-, or cranberry-flavored is sure to be a hit.
- — Put together some of your staff’s favorite energizing sativa products to counteract those sleepy tryptophans from your turkey dinner.
9. Partner With Influencers for Holiday Dispensary Marketing
Consumers tend to trust influencers’ recommendations more than celebrities or traditional ads. This Green Wednesday, you can make the most of consumer trust by partnering with influencers to promote your brand and holiday sales.
Be intentional about the influencers you work with — not all will be equally effective. Some of the best picks will be local accounts that spotlight businesses in your city or micro-influencers with a small but dedicated following.
10. Invest in PR to Promote Dispensary Deals
The top way to ensure your business gets traffic this holiday shopping season is to work with a seasoned cannabis PR firm. A media marketing agency with experience in the cannabis industry, like NisonCo, will help you spread the word about your dispensary and all the great deals and events your cannabusiness is hosting this Autumn.
Public relations is about more than just press releases — we can also help you land media spots in local publications, gift guides, and more, and our PR team works seamlessly with the SEO and content teams to deliver full-service packages to help your business make the most “green” this Green Wednesday.
Time to Start Your Cannabis Holiday Marketing Strategy, Too
Send us a message when you’re ready to start planning for Green Wednesday, and we’ll set up a free discovery call to find out what your business needs to succeed. And don’t panic, but it’s almost time to start prepping your winter holiday marketing strategy, too!
