Beat the Thanksgiving Rush with Dispensary Mobile Apps

We've got some ideas - but let's get a grip on the situation first.

People Are Going Green For The Holidays

A Forbes survey conducted last year provided some intriguing insights into consumer behavior regarding dispensary purchases. It revealed that 90% of consumers plan to maintain their usual purchase levels during the holiday season, regardless of ongoing inflation.

In addition, 7 of 10 respondents are looking to buy extra products to share during the Thanksgiving celebrations. Approximately a quarter of these consumers plan to spend an average of $112 on their favorite products. And more than half (55%) aim to do their shopping on Green Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving.

These figures suggest a potentially bustling cannabis market, especially as we approach the end of 2023. This also indicates that your store could see a surge of customers around Thanksgiving, requiring stores to set up mechanisms to manage this increased demand efficiently.

One of the tools that dispensaries can use to do so is a custom mobile app that is specifically developed for your own brand, business goals and operations.

By adopting apps into your retail strategy, your dispensaries may:

Address Long Wait Times

By integrating apps into your retail strategy, your dispensaries can address long wait times. A study by Dispense highlighted that one of the major pain points for customers at cannabis stores is the long wait times. A native app can significantly alleviate this issue.

This app allows customers to browse products, create a wishlist, save their favorite items, and even schedule pick-ups or deliveries—all from the comfort of their homes. This not only enhances the shopping experience by enabling customers to avoid lines but also assists in streamlining order management at your store.

Maximize Heavy Footfall

If massive foot traffic is inevitable for single-location stores, redirect them to your app or a kiosk to help cut the queue. Let AI-powered selling tools and immersive digital menus on these channels drive your customers to the right product and lead them to checkout. Think of it as an additional staff on your team.

Meanwhile, brands that have stores not too far from each other can leverage an app's multi-store feature, guiding customers to other locations that can cater to their orders. The app can be incredibly helpful if your store is experiencing heavy footfall and struggling to keep up with demands on certain products, or if customers are travelling around.

It effectively distributes customer traffic across different locations, preventing overcrowding or frustrations over sold-out items, and ensuring a smoother shopping experience for all.

Save Time with Pre-Payments

Have you ever prepared tons of orders for pick-up only to find 40 of them left uncollected at the end of the night? That's 40 orders that could have been sold to walk-ins and that's not all, your staff would have to put them all back on the shelves before the shop closes.

Avoid wasting time, manhours, and potential revenue by offering people the option to pre-pay via the app. With the right integration, a custom mobile app can facilitate pre-payment options. This accelerates the shopping process and can reduce the number of no-shows.

Avoid Promo Confusion

A cannabis Reddit thread from Illinois highlighted customer dissatisfaction arising from confusion over an in-store promotion. This confusion led to a 10-minute argument between the dispensary staff and a customer, who claimed the store was falsely advertising. The issue arose due to ambiguity about which promotion supersedes another, particularly when the store had daily deals and brand-specific discounts running simultaneously.

This dissatisfaction culminated in a complaint posted on the social media platform, attracting other customers who shared the same sentiment. Some even claimed they would boycott the store altogether.

Apps offer a solution to such issues by providing distinct platforms for discounts. They allow customers to apply discount codes received via email, SMS, or push notifications, or set automatic discounts on specific items. This feature minimizes confusion and potential disputes on the part of the customer.

PS: We cannot link to the Reddit thread here in the article due to its use of explicit language. But well, the customers were pretty disgruntled.

Streamline Order Management 

Typically, your store would receive sales from walk-ins, phone calls, and online orders. Managing all these different channels can sometimes lead to missed orders, especially during busy seasons.

A fully integrated app can consolidate online orders in one place, decreasing the likelihood of missing an order and ensuring efficient order management, particularly during high-demand periods.

Explore Business-to-Business Opportunities

The holiday season isn't just about selling to individual customers; it's also an excellent time to explore business-to-business (B2B) opportunities. Your store can offer "sponsored" spots on the app for other brands to promote their products.

This can boost sales across the board and help foster stronger relationships with other businesses in the industry.

Conclusion

As the cannabis industry continues to grow and evolve, stores that leverage technology like mobile apps will be better equipped to handle busy periods like Thanksgiving.

These apps not only simplify order management and enhance customer service but also open up new avenues for B2B opportunities. So this Thanksgiving, a custom mobile app could prove to be an invaluable tool for your cannabis store, helping you effectively manage the holiday rush while maximizing your growth potential.

Own a fully custom dispensary mobile app in as fast as 60-90 days

Schedule a 15-minute demo with Digital Awesome today.

Learn more: www.awesomecannabisapps.com

For inquiries, email brady@awesomecannabisapps.com or schedule a demo to get a call from the Digital Awesome Client Success Team.

About Digital Awesome

Digital Awesome builds custom cannabis mobile apps for dispensaries. The company empowers dispensaries with a bespoke app solution that delivers a fully branded experience, native shopping and compliant marketing for better dispensary sales and customer retention.

Disclaimer: Tips, advice, and insights provided on this blog are intended for informational purposes only and should be considered as recommendations, analysis and/or market news. Readers should conduct their own due diligence and ensure compliance with federal and state laws before making any business & and marketing decisions pertaining to their own dispensaries/affiliates/and promotional channels. Digital Awesome will not be held liable for any damages or penalties incurred as a result of following the advice or information presented in this blog.

References:

Dispense. (2023). Should You Care About Order Management? Here’s What Cannabis Consumers Think.

Reddit, www.reddit.com/r/ILTrees

Herrington, A. J. (2022, November 8). New survey details the growing importance of cannabis for Thanksgiving celebrations. Forbes.