4/20 is the biggest sales day of the year for cannabis dispensaries and delivery services. With massive customer demand, promotional opportunities, and high-volume sales, preparation is key to ensuring a seamless experience for both your team and your customers.
To help you maximize your success, we’ve created the ultimate 420 guide—packed with strategies for inventory planning, promotions, staffing, customer experience, and operational efficiency.
What’s Inside the 420 Guide?
Section 1: 420 Marketing Build Hype & Drive Sales
420 is your biggest opportunity to drive serious revenue, grow your customer base, and make a lasting impression—and the marketing section of this guide is built to help you do exactly that. Whether you're looking to boost foot traffic, increase repeat visits, or simply run a smoother campaign this year, this section is full of practical strategies and proven tactics to elevate your efforts.
You’ll get inspiration and checklists to bring your in-store experience to life, a detailed timeline to help you stay organized, and guidance on how to use segmentation to send the right deals to the right people at the right time. Here’s what’s inside:
- Experiences to Turn Your Shop into a Destination
- March and April Marketing Action Items, a Comprehensive Timeline
- Letting the Right Customers Know about your Deals
Section 2: 420 Inventory The Right Products at the Right Time
Inventory issues are one of the fastest ways to lose money on 420—whether it’s running out of best-sellers, overselling online, or missing out on key vendor deals. With tight timelines and high customer expectations, you need a solid plan to stay stocked, organized, and profitable. This section of the guide starts with simple, effective steps to prevent inventory loss from human error, miscounts, or internal theft—then takes you through everything you need to forecast demand, audit your stock, and secure the best vendor terms. You’ll get:
- How to Prevent Inventory Loss
- March and April Inventory Action Items, a Comprehensive Timeline
- Forecasting, Purchasing and Merchandising
- 4 Week Inventory Audit Plan
- Securing Vendor Deals (that keep your margins protected)
Section 3: 420 Operations Tech-Powered Efficiency
Your systems make or break 420. This section of the guide is built to help you maximize efficiency, eliminate bottlenecks, and serve more customers—faster. From managing lines and optimizing delivery to boosting online visibility and enabling cashless checkout, it’s packed with high-impact tactics to keep your team running smoothly and your sales flowing. You’ll get:
- How to Keep the Line Moving
- Reach Customers Everywhere they Shop
- Smart Integrations
- Online Ordering Checklist
- Boost Dispensary SEO Checklist
- Going Cashless with Payment Processing
Expert Insights: Preparing for 420 with CAM Delivery’s Operations Manager
One of the best ways to prepare for 420 is to learn from operators who have been through it before. We sat down with Jelina, Delivery and Operations Manager at CAM Delivery, to get a behind-the-scenes look at how a well-run cannabis delivery operation prepares for the busiest week of the year.
Jelina shares her expert tips on everything from inventory management to staffing and order fulfillment. Here’s what she had to say:
Q: How do you plan ahead for 4/20 week as a delivery operator?
Jelina: Our timeline starts with making sure our inventory is 100% accurate with a cycle count, then confirming that products are fully stocked. We then strategically plan promos based on bulk inventory, featured products, best sellers, and aging products. We plan what our drivers carry ahead of time and pack only what is on special to keep cases organized and efficient for dynamic orders.
Q: What’s your approach to staffing drivers and dispatch during 4/20 week?
Jelina: All hands on deck! Our employees are cross-trained to perform dispatch and delivery tasks so we can be flexible with scheduling and staff up as much as possible.
Q: How do you structure shifts to stay efficient with high volume?
Jelina: We schedule morning or night shifts for 25% of drivers, then an open-to-close (all-day) shift for the remaining 75% of drivers. Open-to-close drivers fulfill dynamic orders as long as they can, then closing shift drivers come in to relieve them and fulfill any orders that need to be packed from the warehouse.
Q: How do you prevent delays or long wait times?
Jelina: Delays and long wait times can be unavoidable on high-volume days, so we set clear, realistic expectations with customers about ETAs, put banners on our website with estimated delivery times, and encourage customers to shop what is on special for faster service. We pack driver cases solely with what is on special and pack heavy on those SKUs to keep drivers out on the road as long as possible.
We pack driver cases solely with what is on special and pack heavy on those SKUs to keep drivers out on the road as long as possible.
Q: Do you offer delivery time slots or same-day service only? Any tips here?
Jelina: We offer ASAP delivery or scheduled delivery for later. The best tip for scheduled orders on high-volume days is a long window. If a customer requests delivery for after work, we give them a window from that time up until close. This allows us to route orders when it makes the most sense.
Q: Any features you recommend delivery operators take full advantage of?
Jelina: Insights! Look at what your customers are purchasing. Offer discounts on products that customers are already purchasing, as well as items that need an extra push!
Meadow: The All-in-One Dispensary System That Delivers
We help cannabis retailers sell anywhere, stay compliant, and streamline operations with our all-in-one POS and delivery software. Whether you're managing a storefront or handling high-volume deliveries for 4/20, Meadow gives you the powerful tools you need to run your business efficiently and profitably.
- Easy to Use & Train Staff – Meadow’s intuitive design makes it simple for new hires to learn quickly and operate efficiently.
- Dynamic Delivery Workflows – Optimize routes and minimize delays with seamless dispatching.
- Live Menu Updates & Integrations – Ensure customers see accurate inventory and pricing across all sales channels.
- Robust Reporting & Insights – Use real-time data to plan inventory, staffing, and marketing strategies for high-demand days.
- Seamless Onboarding & Support – Get up and running fast with dedicated onboarding, training, and live support.
With Meadow, you get a fully integrated retail and delivery solution built specifically for cannabis operators.
Whether you're a retail dispensary or a delivery operator, these insights will help you optimize your workflow, increase sales, and create a seamless customer experience during the busiest cannabis holiday of the year.
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