Destination Dispensary?

Author

Duncan Cameron
September 01, 2023

Let’s face it. Dispensaries are like gas stations. No one really cares what kind of gas they are buying. When you’re on your way home from work, and dispensary A is on the right and dispensary B on the left, chances are you’re going to dispensary A. Not to throw cold water on the current system but consumers still shop by the three “P'“s -

Price, Proximity and Potency.

The third P may be changing somewhat as the industry expands beyond the subculture, but for right now that’s what it is 

I’m not the only one who is thinking this. Chicago based Green Thumb Industries thought so much so that they were planning on partnering with Circle K to put dispensaries in their gas stations in Florida (a plan that is currently on hold amid pending litigation).

There is no brand loyalty to Conoco, Shell, Chevron or Exxon. People just roll into the station that’s on the same side of the road that they’re driving. Just like dispensaries.

Smart operators will realize this and pivot before it’s too late. And much like electric cars are to gas stations, legalization will be to dispensaries.

Kids in 2033 will be talking about them in the same way.

Which is to say, not at all

POUND SAND

On this week’s edition of Pound Sand I had the pleasure of speaking with industry veteran Halley Cohen of Cold Cure Labs. I asked Halley, "What do you think really convinces a cannabis consumer to buy a product?"

Here’s what she said -

Anyone who has worked cannabis retail knows that price and location are the 2 things that bring customers to you.

You eat with your eyes and the same is true when shopping for cannabis and cannabis products. Because consumers only have their eyes and nose to suss out the best product, both the packaging and the overall appearance of the product, if they're able to see it, play a big role in purchasing. Flashy packaging only goes so far if the appearance of the actual product is off.

A big problem here is that a lot of dispensary employees are incentivized by their employers and vendors to sell specific products, which most regular consumers are aware of and can affect how genuine and trustworthy an employee comes off to a shopper... Trust is hard to come by but once it's established your consumer doesn't need to look elsewhere.

Halley Cohen

Amen Halley. Customer acquisition is costly and brand loyalty, i.e. trust, should never be taken lightly.

OTHER NEWS

Do we still need Weedmaps? If you said yes, get ready to fork over a lot more money. Apparently revenue and site traffic are down. So if you stick with them you get to pick up the slack - yay!

Right on the heels of last week’s article, HHS has made a giant statement regarding rescheduling cannabis. Could we finally be here?

In an attempt to remain relevant, NCIA also piled on with their two cents.

Kindness & lies are worth a thousand truths

Thanks for reading,

d