The legalization path is unstoppable; 31 states allow its medical use, and 19 states don’t have any objections to recreational weed use. Thus, the American nation is on the path to increasing weed acceptance at multiple levels – as a sedative, a creativity booster, or a fun aid at parties and go-togethers.
The number of cannabis dispensaries grows with the rising demand for certified, legal merchandize. Still, opening a dispensary is not a guaranteed revenue stream for a businessperson. You need to make your point of sale stand out and attract customers with a unique feel and brand identity.
When customers think, “what’s the best dispensary near me?” they should recall your dispensary first. So, how to achieve the wow effect and raise a loyal customer base with exceptional dispensary design? Here are a couple of tips from expert designers with weed domain experience.
#1 Forget About the Hippy Culture
The times of underground stoner culture and imagery are long gone. At least, they don’t work in the legal domain, as customers coming to an official dispensary for medical or recreational marijuana are different from the misfits of the past. Modern users look for elegant, esthetic designs and mature branding that hints at the company’s taste, sense of the trends, and reliability.
#2 Make Design Orderly and Intuitive
Nothing is more frustrating than a cluttered, disorganized space where the customer will need to walk for hours, trying to find the right strain or weed-infused product. Order is the clue to winning your clients’ hearts. Just like an intuitive user interface at a website, your showcase should be transparent and intuitively organized to spot the right item quickly. Satisfied customers are sure to return, longing for a similarly positive experience at your dispensary, so organizing the shelves and items well is worth the effort.
#3 Strive for Consistency
A consistent brand identity is more memorable and relatable for different customer categories. To achieve this effect, you will need to think through every element of visual design, product packaging, and other elements. Incorporate brand colors, shapes, and artifacts in all the décor elements, business cards, and website/app interfaces to create a lasting impression and increase your brand’s recognizability.
#4 Don’t Take the Risks of DIY Design
Some startups decide to save their scarce resources and go for DIY dispensary designs. However, this decision is strategically wrong as it prevents you from attending to the core business tasks, such as strategy, operations, and expansion. DIY designs also lack consistency and don’t work well in making the first impression. Thus, we recommend reserving a piece of your dispensary setup budget for hiring a talented, experienced designer. This investment is sure to pay off, as modern customers are picky about the esthetic shopping experience.
#5 Advertise Your Design
Once you’ve finalized your dispensary’s design, it’s time to tell the world about it. Use your social media, blog, and official website to present the design’s strong sides in the best possible way. Focus on the tiny details that distinguish your dispensary from the rest and boost your prospects’ interest, urging them to drop by and see it all with their own eyes.
Another effective way to use your social media is by asking your subscribers for advice. Sometimes, you may be at the crossroads with design options, unsure which one to choose. In this case, you can offer several alternatives to your loyal clients and ask them to vote for one of them. You’ll express your care for clients’ opinions and opt for the variant your tribe likes.
#6 Think Over the Logistics
A dispensary’s physical design should also correspond to your understanding of the number of clients you’re ready to serve simultaneously. You need to clarify the peak times of customers’ visits to your space, giving people enough comfortable seating to wait for their turn in case unexpected congestion emerges. A top-notch dispensary should also give clients enough private space to take a seat and study the labels, product descriptions, and instructions.
#7 Recreational vs. Medical
Most dispensaries have products for both recreational and medical weed use. However, it’s better to condense your branding and dispensary design to one dominant sphere of use. This solution can help you appeal to your target audience much better. For instance, medical weed users would favor a pharmacy-like experience at a cannabis dispensary, as they come to buy cannabis for therapeutic purposes and don’t want to be labelled as stoners.
On the other hand, Recreational users might want a more relaxing and esthetically pleasing experience, with elegant designs and soothing music playing in the background. So, by understanding who comes to your dispensary, you can granulate an appeal to that specific group with a properly selected design.
Design Is Essential
If you think that design is secondary to service or product quality, you’re making a big mistake. Customers are spoilt for choice in the modern competitive market, so they prefer shopping at visually pleasing and convenient dispensaries. Thus, you have a real chance to boost sales and win customer commitment by treating clients to a stylish design coupled with stellar service and superior quality.
