Pumpkin Spice season has started which has shifted the societal gears towards Fall and the holiday season. With only a few weeks until the shopping season really kicks off, purchasing managers will need to prioritize how they purchase for the holidays to make sure they’re fully ready for stocking stuffers galore. With the right reporting, operators can identify trends and leverage hard data to really prepare for a successful season and close the books on 2022 with pride. Let’s take a sip of our PSLs and get started on developing business strategies for the end of the year (and beyond!).
Categorical Spending
Of course, flower has not yet been dethroned as the overarching categorical winner when it comes to medicated product. Quality flower with drool-worthy trichomes and beautiful blends of terpenes are hard to overlook and will continue to consistently be a hot seller in all markets in all seasons- it’s an evergreen driver. Outside of flower, many markets are seeing an increase in concentrate products including the vape category for their discreet nature and terpene-driven flavor profiles. Reviewing both category spending year over year as well as recently as markets expand is a good way to analyze what categories to commit to for the shopping season and beyond.
Best BOGOs
In addition to categorical success for products, looking at best performing promotions is a great way to leverage partnerships and promotions for the shopping season. Activations such as buy an 1/8th, get a pre-roll for a penny may spike sales, but BOGO 1/8ths may spike new customers. Taking time to review promotions that were activated through the year and identifying the top five to ten to rotate through during the heavy shopping season can be a great call to customers to do their holiday shopping (for the 21+ people in their lives) with specific brands or dispensaries. With partnerships like these, the more time the better to work on getting the correct amount of promotional product. Many cultivators may need to allocate additional resources to be able to run these promos and have to plan for the additional labor, packaging, or products themselves to accommodate.
Happiest Hours
Sales may slump on certain days or on certain hours. The morning and mid-day timeframes may be slower as more adults are working 9-5 jobs or late night hours may be slow in more remote areas or certain days may make traffic difficult to get to your retail location. By reviewing traffic trends through previous weeks and months and pairing that report with localized events (I.e., road closures, construction, traffic-stopping events) operators can identify key areas of opportunity to drive foot traffic. To drive in customers and incentivize sales during those more dead hours, consider a happy hour promotion with extra rewards points or exclusive promotions. Schedule pop-ups that are interactive- pairing a topical lotion with unmedicated samples and hand massages could encourage someone who is canna-curious to make the trip to learn more from the experts. Appealing to the cannabis community with industry discounts that are time restricted can also not only show support for the workforce but also encourage guests who are well informed and can build more brand authenticity.
The lattes may be hot, but your sales season may be hotter. Creative use of reporting empowers teams to develop targeted ways of tackling the biggest opportunity to capture sales of the year. For more support during your sales season, contact our team to get a demo of the ERP system that wants to grow with you. Message us here and start 2023 strong.
