The 4/20 playbook: plan your biggest sales day of the year
For many dispensaries, 4/20 is the busiest day on the calendar. The stores that win it start planning weeks ahead. Here’s a week-by-week plan you can copy.
Why 4/20 needs a plan
4/20 brings two kinds of shoppers through your door: your regulars, who would have bought from you anyway, and first-timers and occasional buyers who are shopping around for the best experience. A great day comes from serving both without giving away your margin or burning out your team.
The most common 4/20 mistakes are predictable: discounts that are too deep, best sellers that run out by noon, lines that wrap around the building, and no plan to bring new customers back. Every one of them is fixable with a few weeks of preparation.
Deals that protect your margin
Deep, store-wide discounts mostly reward people who were going to buy anyway. Targeted offers do more with less.
- Feature a few hero deals instead of discounting everything. Pick products you have plenty of and can source again.
- Use bundles such as a pre-roll pack with papers or an eighth with a matching edible. Bundles raise the order value instead of cutting it.
- Reward loyalty members with double points or early access. It costs you less than a straight discount and gives new shoppers a reason to sign up.
- Work with your brands. Many vendors will fund or share the cost of promotions around 4/20. Ask early.
- Check your state’s rules on discounts, giveaways and “free” product before you finalize anything. They vary a lot.
Inventory planning
Nothing hurts more than turning away a ready-to-buy shopper because the product they came for sold out at 11 AM.
- Look back at last year, and at your busiest recent weekends, to see which categories and products moved fastest.
- Place vendor orders early. Distributors get busy in April too.
- Pre-pack popular items where your rules allow, so staff aren’t weighing and labeling during the rush.
- Keep your online menu accurate. A menu synced to your POS stops online shoppers from ordering items you’ve already sold out of.
Staffing and express pickup
Speed is the experience on 4/20. The faster people get through, the more people you can serve, and the better they’ll feel about coming back.
- Push online ordering ahead of time. Every order placed in advance is one less person deciding at the counter.
- Set up an express pickup lane with its own staff and clear signs, so pre-ordered customers skip the main line.
- Use pickup windows to spread orders across the day and match them to staffing.
- Schedule extra hands for packing, ID checks and line management, not just the register.
- Brief everyone the day before on deals, limits, and what to do when something sells out.
Your campaign schedule
Plan your messages like a short countdown: a heads-up, a reminder, a day-of nudge and a thank-you. Use each channel for what it does best.
- Email for the full deal list and anything that needs more detail.
- Text messages for short, time-sensitive reminders, sent only to customers who opted in and never during quiet hours.
- Push notifications from your app for free, instant updates like “express pickup is open.”
- Your Google Business Profile and website banner for the shoppers who aren’t on your list yet.
Keep every message compliant: honor opt-outs right away, include opt-out instructions in texts, and follow your state’s cannabis advertising rules. Our guide to texting customers without getting blocked covers the details.
Week-by-week timeline
Here’s a timeline you can adapt. Work backward from April 20.
| When | Focus | To-do |
|---|---|---|
| 6 weeks out | Plan | Review last year’s results, set goals, talk to brands about co-funded deals. |
| 4 weeks out | Inventory & deals | Lock in hero deals and bundles, place vendor orders, check promotion rules. |
| 3 weeks out | Staffing | Build the schedule, plan the express pickup lane, set pickup windows. |
| 2 weeks out | Campaigns | Write and schedule emails, texts and push notifications. Update your website banner. |
| 1 week out | Pre-orders | Announce deals, open early pre-orders, remind loyalty members about bonus points. |
| Day before | Prep | Pre-pack where allowed, brief staff, test online ordering end to end. |
| 4/20 | Execute | Morning reminder, live inventory updates, express pickup, a thank-you message that evening. |
| Week after | Follow up | Welcome new customers, ask for reviews, send a “come back” offer. |
Day-of operations
- Watch inventory in real time and mark items sold out online the moment they run out.
- Keep pickup moving: text customers when their order is ready and keep the express lane clear.
- Check IDs and limits on every order. Busy days are when mistakes happen.
- Have a plan for problems: a short script for sold-out items, a substitute suggestion and someone empowered to make it right.
- Feed your team. Seriously. Long shifts go better with breaks and food.
Your 4/20 customers will remember how fast and friendly it felt long after they forget the discount.
After 4/20: turn first-timers into regulars
The week after 4/20 is where the real return comes from. You just met a lot of new customers. Now give them a reason to come back.
- Send a thank-you message with a small offer for their next visit.
- Invite new customers to join your loyalty program or download your app.
- Ask for a review from every customer, not just the ones you expect to be happy. See our guide to getting more Google reviews the right way.
- Compare results to your goals: sales, new customers, online share and how many first-timers return within 30 days.
- Write down what you’d change, while it’s fresh, for next year.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Rules for cannabis promotions, discounts and advertising vary by state and city.