Customer Retention Strategies That Will TURN YOUR Dispensary Around!

Why Retention Matters More in 2025

In 2025, it’s time to shift your focus from just acquiring new customers to fostering long-term engagement. Because constantly investing in customer acquisition can become expensive, draining your time, effort, and resources, which can ultimately hurt your bottom line. Not only that, but neglecting to cultivate a sense of loyalty means you're risking the long-term survival of your business. 

To thrive, your dispensary needs to become an integral part of your customers’ daily habits and routines. How? 

Here are 5 tactics BIG dispensaries are using to keep customers coming back everyday:

1. Build a Community

Make your customers feel like they belong to something special:

Loyalty programs: Equip your budtenders to actively promote loyalty perks. Highlight the benefits of VIP membership through your app, like exclusive discounts or early access to products.

Milestone rewards: Show appreciation for your customers by celebrating their loyalty. Personalized messages like, “Congrats on your 10th visit! Here’s 15% off your next purchase” make them feel valued.

2. Gamify 

Turn shopping into a fun and rewarding experience:

Customer missions: Engage customers with challenges like “Visit 3 times this month to unlock 20% off.”

Leaderboards and badges: Encourage friendly competition with in-app rewards for milestones such as “Top Buyer of the Month.”

3. Daily Interaction

Habits are formed through repetition. Integrate daily engagement into your customers’ routines:

Spin the Wheel Game: Add a gamified feature to your app where customers can spin daily to win points, discounts, or free merch (as legally allowed). Use push notifications to nudge them to participate every day.

Cannabis Passport Program: Turn your loyalty program into an adventure. Customers can earn “stamps” for trying different product categories (e.g., flower, edibles, concentrates). Completing their “passport” unlocks exclusive rewards like limited-edition products or deep discounts.

4. Personalize!

Personalization goes a long way in showing your customers they matter:

Re-engagement offers: Reach out to customers who haven’t shopped in over 60 days with a tailored “We miss you” discount.

Smart recommendations: Use purchase history to recommend products they’ll love - mobile apps are a great way to automate this experience. For instance, “You loved [Product A]. You might enjoy [Product B]!”

5. Bring Customers Together

Create meaningful connections to foster loyalty:

Host events: From educational workshops to product ‘tastings’ and exclusive launches, give customers a reason to visit and engage with your brand and team members.

Start a community: Create chat groups on private channels, encourage them to chat with Budtenders within your mobile app, or reward loyalty members for sharing reviews, tips, and experiences about the products they bought. 

Remember, building a sense of belonging strengthens brand attachment. So take advantage of this natural instinct.

Right Strategy = Better Retention

Retention isn’t about luck—it’s about having the right tools and strategies. By focusing on building habits, fostering community, and delivering personalized experiences, you can transform one-time shoppers into lifelong advocates for your brand.

Consider how mobile technology could make these strategies happen for your dispensary. Tools like custom mobile apps from Digital Awesome with features such as gamification, push notifications, and loyalty program integration can create meaningful and lasting customer connections. 

Whether you’re just getting started to open a dispensary business or looking to elevate your current retention efforts, there’s no better time to explore innovative approaches.

Start small. 

Pick one of these strategies and test it out. Your customers will thank you—and so will your bottom line.