4 ways to influence dispensary purchase behaviors

Do you want to influence who visits your dispensary, and what (plus how much) they buy? 

Read on for 4 tips, based on survey responses from real cannabis consumers, for influencing your shoppers’ behavior.

1. Prices and discounts

Don’t give into the race to the bottom with your prices, but do know that 20% of dispensary shoppers claim price to be the biggest indicator of whether they visit a dispensary again. 

And not surprisingly, younger customers are more likely to cite price as important.

Related, we asked specifically about discounts, deals, and promos on cannabis products. A solid 56% said they were likely or extremely likely to visit a dispensary solely for deals. Another 28% said deals only sometimes influence their visit. Only 16% said deals were irrelevant to where they shop or what they buy.

Tip! Carry a variety of products — at a variety of price points — and use deals strategically to draw new customers in and cultivate their loyalty. But protect your margins always.

2. Staff

Also not surprising, but how friendly, knowledgeable, and supportive your staff is will impact what (and how much) shoppers buy and whether they come back. 

When we asked dispensary shoppers about why they go back to a specific store, the most common response was “Customer Service / Staff.” 

We also asked how dispensary customers decide what products to purchase and the most chosen option was “Trust budtender advice or recommendations,” at 31% of respondents. 

Staff always matters, but cannabis businesses live and die by their human resources. Inexperienced shoppers, which are common in the still-new industry, need support in order to make good product decisions. If your staff isn’t kind, patient, and helpful, those shoppers will not be back.

3. Product selection and variety

Boutique dispensaries, with a limited product selection, will appeal to a certain type of shopper. But generally, people want options. 

A whopping 89% of our dispensary survey respondents said your product selection and variety influences their decision to shop at certain stores.

Your challenge is finding the sweet spot of having enough variety, but without wasting or losing money on products that don’t sell. 

Tip! Run specific menus (and deals) on overstocked or close-to-expiring products to move them off the shelf before they impact your margins.

4. Education

The key to attracting new customers — who care about prices, deals, and variety — and ultimately turning them into repeat customers, is the ability to efficiently and effectively communicate with them.

They need to know what products you carry, what’s in-stock, what’s on sale, what’s new, etc. They also need to know the details about those products in order to make good choices for their consumption preferences and/or medical needs. 

And finally, they need all of this in a helpful, friendly environment. It’s actually asking a lot of your teams. And it needs to be consistent across all your locations.

Technology can ensure your education, or in-store communication, is consistent and helpful to dispensary customers. 

TV menus and interactive tablets from Seed allow you to create custom menus to move specific products, highlight products that are on sale, and allow inexperienced shoppers to browse and learn about products. 

The short version

Cannabis dispensary customers care about your prices, knowledgeable staff, and product selection. But you need a proper communication channel to share this information. 

1. Prices matter. Be smart about your discounts to appeal to buyers, without impacting your profits.
2. Staff influence customers. They must be  helpful, knowledgeable, and kind, or shoppers will go elsewhere.
3. Product variety impacts repeat visitors. Find the balance of having enough options, without impacting sell-through.
4. Education is key. Consider ways to inform and educate shoppers, utilizing smart in-store communication channels.

💡To learn more about how Seed can help you effectively share prices, deals, educational details, and variety with your dispensary customers, book time here.