How To Prepare Your Smoke Shop For 4/20

Sound the alarms, break glass in case of emergency, and get ready to order all hands to man their battle stations - 4/20 is officially 6 weeks away. As the undisrupted heavy weight champ of sales boosting holidays, this otherwise unassuming Sunday in April offers your smoke shop an unparalleled opportunity to cash in.

With a massive cultural footprint and ubiquitous presence in the minds of consumers, what started out as an inside joke, has evolved to the point that even local Weather Man will get a crack in.

That’s why Got Vape Wholesale is here today, to let you know the countdown has begun and that if you start preparing with us today, you’ll be poised for an absolute windfall of sales.

Keep reading in this exclusive to learn everything there is to know about 4/20 as a holiday, how you can start preparing right now, and what products you should look to stock up on before the big day is upon us!

Table of Contents:

What Is 4/20?
What Does 420 Mean?
Where Did 420 Come From?
A Very Special 4/20 Sunday Funday
What Opportunities Does 4/20 Offer My Shop?
An Excuse To Indulge
One Time Customers
Moving Back Stock
What Strategies Can I Use To Maximize Sales?
Early Bird Specials
Eye Popping Sales
Move Products With Bundles
Social Media Teases
Night Of The Living Flyer
Stock Up Now For 4/20 Now

What Is 4/20?

Four Twenty - 420, 4:20 or 4/20 [ fawr-twen-tee ] - is a holiday celebrated round the world where people come together to celebrate their enjoyment of dry herbs.

Pardon Got Vape for going full dictionary mode on you, but for a day with this much significance we want to really spell things out for you. While an unofficial holiday, the concept of “4/20” has reverberated throughout society and is now permanently associated with dry herbs.

On a practical level, 4/20 typically involves coming together with friends to smoke, vape, eat, and otherwise consume all of their favorite dry materials. This means that customers are going to be looking for a whole host of devices to truly revel in the day, thus opening the door for your Smoke Shop to step in.

What Does 420 Mean?

Now we may have just spelled out the definition of 420, but now we're going full Dr. Melfi and asking ourselves, what does 420 really mean? Well despite there being a full on holiday, the reality is that many customers have come to associate the number 420, with anything having to do with dry herbs.

From this common phrases have arisen like “420 friendly” as a polite way of mentioning to others that you like to enjoy smoking / vaping dry materials. It’s important to realize that because of this, when you say 4/20, people won’t necessarily mean the actual day.

As some customers prefer to be private about their dry herb experiences, the word 420 has become a sort of code word for them to softly discuss these materials. With a wide variety of different dry herbs out there, 420 casts a large net when it comes to customer enjoyment.

Where Did 420 Come From?

So how did all of this numerical mischief begin? Well it’s sort of a chicken and egg situation, but instead of one preceding the other, both involved parties end up waking up on a couch together with the TV playing Sopranos and an empty pizza box on the floor.

This is all a round about way of saying that 420 doesn’t have an exact history, it's more of a folk tale passed between friends in a smokey game of telephone. Some will claim that it's the police code for dry herbs, others believe the term was coined in the 1970s, but the exact truth remains as murky as a dirty water pipe.

While the origin of 4/20 may have gone up in smoke long ago, condemned to the ash tray of history, its effects are still felt today. Just look at Colorado, where the local government had to remove their 420 mile marker and replace it with a 419.99 one just to prevent lets call them 420 Enthusiasts from stealing it.

That level of pure fandom can’t be manufactured. This one is the real deal, a quite literally grass roots holiday created by the people, for the people. Thanks to this heart felt enthusiasm, 4/20 is a day that customers genuinely want to spend on, which is good news for your business.

A Very Special 4/20 Sunday Funday

Very briefly we wanted to point out that this year’s 4/20 happens to land on a Sunday. This is absolutely massive for your sales, as since people will already be off on the weekend - they have all the time in the world to properly enjoy the holiday!

This alignment of the stars should not be taken lightly, a weekend 4/20 is a rare occurrence and gives you the opportunity to really knock it out of the park this 2025. When properly prepared, you can make enough sales on 4/20 to buoy your business and ensure you ride out the rest of the year in the green.

What Opportunities Does 4/20 Offer My Shop?

Onto the nitty gritty, thanks to the increased attention to smoking / vaping dry herbs, you are going to have an absolute deluge of customers coming in. This presents you a large amount of opportunity to capitalize on the attention, by playing into the day for higher sales.

To properly achieve this, we wanted to break down some of the unique customer opportunities that arise on 4/20, so that you can properly market to all of the mindsets you’ll encounter.

An Excuse To Indulge

One of the first and foremost benefits to 4/20, is that it gives customers an excuse to indulge themselves. Much like Christmas leads to people spending big on presents, 4/20 is the holiday where shoppers are looking to really spend at your smoke shop.

By going big on your sales, this gives customers looking to indulge the excuse needed to finally pull the trigger on that top shelf water pipe they’ve been pining for the past couple of months.

With just a small push, you can get your shoppers to make those big purchases and feel good about them at the same time by rewarding them with the discount they held out for. This means that discounts as low as 5% can be enough to get people in, these minor differences end up making a huge difference to the customer and make the higher end options feasible.

Whether you go the way of discounts or bundles, the point is that you are providing enough of a spark to light the fuse in the customers mind where they finally say “I'm finally buying a Pivot” and you get the sale.

One Time Customers

While usually more of a neutral phenomenon, when it comes to 4/20 the reality of one time customers can be played to your advantage. These are going to be the people who usually refrain from smoking / vaping, but due to the cultural weight of the day are deciding to take the plunge.

Your 4/20 one time customers are going to come in two varieties, those looking to enjoy their dry herbs for as cheaply as possible and those who, while new, are exclusively interested in the most luxurious blue chip experiences available.

The first category is going to be much more numerous, these are the customers who are looking to have some fun on a Sunday with their friends, roast some dry materials, and enjoy a casual day of fun before going back to their regular lives on Monday.

For these shoppers, this is where having a competent collection of papers, hand pipes, lighters, and disposable vaporizers is going to come into play. These are all low cost options that are easy to use and don’t require any additional set up for all in one experiences.

On the opposite end of the spectrum you have customers who, despite their beginner status, are more than ready to shell out some serious cashola for the big ticket items. Think about the same way someone with deep pockets would buy a Lamborghini, despite never having driven before.

For all of these customers you are going to want to have the big guns available, think brands like Puffco, Storz & Bickel, and Stündenglass. With massive reputations with products like the Peak Pro and Volcano Vaporizer, these are items that customers will walk in, point to, and immediately pull the trigger on.

All of these premium brands don’t just offer the strongest of experiences, but also incredibly streamlined operation that makes them still accessible to these more novice operators.

Moving Back Stock

4/20 isn’t just an opportunity to sell your latest and greatest, but also have the prime moment to move back stock and finally get a return on your investment. Think of this as turning lemons into lemonade, but with a more smokey spin on it.

One point of attack to consider is listing some of your back stock items for massive 60% + off discounts in order to boost your marketing with “massive savings” available. This kills two birds with one stone, as you already want to move these products and the 4/20 blowout is the perfect time.

Another bonus is that due to the fun, spending nature of 4/20 - some products that didn’t do particularly well on the shelf, will find a new life in the discount bin. With people already spending, grabbing another little tiny accessory for cheap is much more attractive than usual.

This is why 4/20 is truly the ultimate time to move your old items and make way for all the new products that are coming later this year. For more in depth tips on how to move your back stock, make sure to check out our article right here to gain some more insight into the process.

What Strategies Can I Use To Maximize Sales?

With a better idea of how much opportunity 4/20 provides our industry, we wanted to give you some ammunition to use in your fight to maximize sales. Below we have gone in depth on several different ways you can increase your hype, draw in more customers, and ultimately cash in on this holiday.

To get the most out of any of these, we recommend using a mixture of these ideas as this is a case of the more the merrier. With so much riding on this day, all of the effort you put in over the next 6 weeks will 100% come back to you with tangible profits.

Early Bird Specials

One of the most tried and true methods of generating sales is to go ahead with some early bird specials that really catch customers attention. The general concept being that you want as many customers to come through for the deal as possible, even though not every one is going to get in on it.

To generate this type of hype, you can’t dangle a simple carrot to get people waking up early, but something truly special like a discount Focus V Carta 2 Deluxe Set. This way people have a real incentive to come to your store instead of one down the street.

The other main point of an early discount special is to get people not only buying the special, but for the other host of deals that you have. Thanks to the increase of people coming in, you are bound to start making ancillary sales alongside the big ticket items.

Eye Popping Sales

The most powerful and obvious tool in your arsenal on 4/20, is to selectively discount your products depending on your current stock and their present popularity.

This doesn’t mean everything has to be aggressively marked down, but instead choose a couple of items that fit with your finances and drum up hype via their highly marked down price points. By including some larger 50% off and up sales, you can boost the effectiveness of your marketing and ensure that you have the boosted influx of customers you need on 4/20.

Another tip is to take some of your cheapest products, papers / hand pies / etc., and then knock them down significantly. Since these are already low cost, taking a bit of a hit on your profits for the tiny things is a great way to get people in to buy the larger, more expensive options.

Move Products With Bundles

Get the most out of your 4/20 sales and effectively move flagging items, by making use of strategically crafted bundles. This pairing of like minded products such as torches and dab rigs, is a great way to see products fly off the shelves and get customers spending more.

By creating these all in one set, you are providing go to options that will have people considering larger purchases due to getting everything they need. Instead of getting a deal on an e-rig but still having to buy tools. Just create a bundle that pairs the two together and benefit from the synergy for much smoother sales.

Another way to utilize bundles is by pairing a hot item, with something less so. This is how you can easily move your back stock and create worthwhile bundles that give your flagging items an instant glow up. Thanks to the draw of the main item, customers will be more inclined to see the value of the additions and go in on the bundle purchase.

Social Media Teases

Get ready to flex your thumbs, because over the next 6 weeks you should try your best to post as often as possible on social media about your upcoming 4/20 sales. Nothing drives home the excitement quite like seeing continuous deals in your feed, whether it's Instagram or Facebook, the more you post the better.

In terms of what you post, we recommend starting out slow and gradually upping the ante on the deals you're announcing as we get closer to the day itself.

This way, your peaking their interest with lets say a 20% off sale on hand pipes week one, and then a the week before start posting about a limited edition sale on a hot ticket item like a Stündenglass Modul and Dok Deluxe Travel Set to ensure people come in.

Night Of The Living Flyer

Despite an old school origin, having a good old fashioned stack of flyers to distribute to customers in the weeks leading up to 4/20 is still a great idea. With a physical piece of paper that displays all your various deals, shoppers have an easy reference point to check back to.

This way you are giving people a tangible reminder that your shop is a go to spot for deals this holiday. People will stuff them in their pocket or bag, only to find them later on and remember that they should stop by your business again for some of these deals.

Try printing your flyers on bright paper to give it some extra pop, no one likes a boring sheet of white paper so always try to add some visual flair. Check out big printers like Staples to get a mass of flyers for cheap, just make sure to not over spend as you want to produce these as cheaply as possible.

Stock Up For 4/20 Now

With all of that being said, the most important step for your smoke shop is to realize that 4/20 is 6 weeks away and to use that time to stock up now. Skip the rush and avoid being caught lacking on key items by using the time you have now, to prepare for the absolute sales blitz approaching.

The earlier you put in orders, the more you guarantee that your business is going to be absolutely loaded up for 4/20. Don’t leave sales up in the air, take the time now to review your inventory and fill in any gaps before the big day arrives.

For more tips and insights make sure to check out the Got Vape Wholesale Business Blog to learn how to boost your display cases and get the down low on 2025 vaping trends.

Be on the lookout for an official 4/20 buyers guide in the coming weeks, to give you a step by step rundown of all the most important pick ups for your smoke shop.