Cannabis Email Marketing Metrics | Improve ROI & Engagement

For cannabis dispensaries navigating strict marketing regulations, email remains one of the most powerful tools in your arsenal — returning an average of $42 for every $1 spent across industries. Yet surprisingly, many dispensary owners we work with aren't tracking the metrics that matter most.

Your email program could be the difference between thriving and merely surviving in a competitive market with limited advertising options. But how do you know if your campaigns are working?

This guide breaks down the essential email marketing metrics every cannabis business owner should track, what they mean for your bottom line, and how to use this data to drive more foot traffic and sales to your dispensary.

Unlike traditional retailers, cannabis dispensaries face unique marketing challenges. Social media platforms restrict cannabis content, paid advertising options are limited, and regulations vary by state. This makes email marketing — a channel you entirely own — particularly valuable.

But simply sending emails isn't enough. Without measuring performance, you're essentially operating in the dark.

"Most dispensary owners we work with are surprised to learn they're leaving money on the table by not optimizing their email campaigns," notes our Head of Product. "The dispensaries seeing the best results make data-driven decisions."Tracking the proper metrics helps you:

• Understand what content resonates with your audience

• Identify which promotions drive the most store visits

• Determine the optimal sending frequency

• Improve ROI on your marketing investment

Deliverability Metrics

Delivery Rate

Delivery Rate (98% is considered good) tells you how many of your emails reached subscribers' inboxes. A low delivery rate signals potential problems with your email service provider or list quality.

Bounce Rate

Bounce Rate (under 2% is the goal) is the percentage of emails that can't be delivered. Soft bounces are temporary issues (like a full inbox), while hard bounces indicate permanent problems (like an invalid email address). High bounce rates can damage your sender's reputation and affect future deliverability.

Engagement Metrics

Open Rate

Open Rate (15-25% industry average) is the percentage of recipients who opened your email. While Apple's privacy changes have made this metric less reliable, it still provides useful trend data. Low open rates often point to weak subject lines or poor list quality.

Click-Through Rate

Click-through rate (CTR) (2-5% industry average) measures the percentage of recipients who clicked on a link in your email compared to the total number of delivered emails. CTR reflects overall campaign effectiveness and is a strong indicator of subscriber interest.

Click-to-Open Rate

Click-to-Open Rate (CTOR) (10-20% is typical) The percentage of email openers who clicked on a link. Unlike CTR, which uses total delivered emails as the denominator, CTOR only considers opened emails. This makes it a better measure of how compelling your content is once someone opens your email.

Conversion Metrics

Conversion Rate

The Conversion Rate (1-3% is typical) is the percentage of email recipients who completed your desired action, such as making a purchase, signing up for your loyalty program, or reserving products for pickup. This is where email marketing directly impacts revenue.

Revenue Per Email

Calculate this by dividing the total revenue generated by the number of emails sent. This straightforward metric helps you understand the monetary value of each email deployment.

ROI Calculation

Return on investment shows whether your email program is profitable. Calculate it by subtracting your email marketing costs from the revenue generated, then dividing by those costs and multiplying by 100.

List Health Metrics

Growth Rate

Healthy email lists typically grow by 2-5% per month. Calculate this by subtracting unsubscribes from new subscribers, dividing by your total list size, and multiplying by 100.

Unsubscribe Rate

Under 0.5% per campaign is ideal) The percentage of recipients who opt out after receiving your email. Spikes in unsubscribes often indicate content misalignment or excessive sending frequency.

Spam Complaints

Spam Complaints (should stay below 0.1%) When subscribers mark your email as spam, it significantly damages your sender reputation. Consistently high spam complaints can get you blacklisted by email service providers.

While email marketing benchmarks vary widely across industries, our research with cannabis retailers shows:

• Average open rates: 18-22%

• Average CTR: 2.3-4.1%

• Average CTOR: 12-16%

• Conversion rates: 1.5-2.8%

These numbers provide a starting point but focus on improving your metrics over time rather than just hitting industry averages. Newer markets often see higher engagement as consumers are eager for information.

Once you understand your metrics, you can use this data to improve performance:

For Low Open Rates:

• Test different subject lines (questions vs. statements)

• Experiment with sender names (business name vs. personal name)

• Optimize send times based on when your emails get the most opens

• Clean your list regularly to remove inactive subscribers

For Low Click Rates:

• Make your call-to-action buttons larger and more prominent

• Reduce the number of links to focus attention

• Use compelling images of your products

• Test different content formats (product spotlights vs. educational content)

For Low Conversion Rates:

• Create stronger offers exclusive to email subscribers

• Ensure landing pages match email content

• Simplify the conversion process (fewer clicks to complete)

• Use segmentation to deliver more relevant content

Personalization That Drives Results:

• Segment based on purchase history (flower consumers vs. edible enthusiasts)

• Create targeted campaigns based on visit frequency

• Send location-specific promotions for multi-location dispensaries

• Use dynamic content to showcase products similar to previous purchases

Essential Tools

You'll need:

• An email marketing platform with analytics capabilities

• Google Analytics (to track website behavior after the click)

• Point-of-sale integration (to connect online and in-store behavior)

Creating Your Measurement Cadence

1. Weekly: Review basic metrics (opens, clicks, conversions)

2. Monthly: Deeper dive into trends and campaign comparisons

3. Quarterly: Complete analysis including ROI and list health

Red Flags to Watch For

Pay immediate attention if you notice:

• Sudden drops in delivery rates

• Spike in spam complaints

• Declining engagement over three consecutive campaigns

• Conversion rates falling below 1%

1. Identify the 3-5 most important metrics for your specific business goals

2. Set up a simple dashboard to track these metrics consistently

3. Establish realistic improvement targets (e.g., increase CTR by 0.5% per month)

4. Test one variable at a time to understand what moves the needle

5. Clean your list quarterly to maintain high engagement

Remember, successful email marketing is not about sending more emails—it's about sending better emails based on data-driven insights.

By understanding these key metrics and using them to guide your decisions, your dispensary can build stronger customer relationships that drive growth even in competitive markets.

Want to see how your email metrics compare to top-performing dispensaries? Our team can provide a free email marketing audit to identify your most significant opportunities for improvement.