Cannabis is now one of the retail industries with the highest software dependency. With the U.S. market valued at over $ 40 billion, apps now handle the cannabis business from the first customer click to the last report to regulators. Apps even bring the cannabis packaging business into the digital domain.
Everything is Managed by Your Smartphone
Gone are the days of having to call a store to order a product. With companies like Weedmaps, Leafly, and Dutchie, dispensary orders can be completed without setting foot in a dispensary. Similar to other delivery companies, IndicaOnline and WebJoint handle everything from delivery to the door to checking the order and verifying the customer’s ID. It is easy to see why the majority of cannabis technology is focused on sales.
Compliance is a Matter of Coding
Apps can help cannabis retail stores with compliance thanks to code. State track-and-trace systems, like Metrc, were created to support compliance in the cannabis industry. There are now apps that automate compliance with cannabis code in real time. The packaging actually influences compliance, as a weed packaging company can place a QR code on a package to allow a customer to verify lab results, the product’s release batch, and its origin. Compliance is easily obtained, as is packaging transparency.
More Intelligent Retail, More Intelligent Sourcing
Point-of-sale systems powered by AI discover trends, personalize recommendations, and predict product demand. Springbig offers a loyalty app that sends personalized promotions to mobile devices. This digital transformation is also occurring upstream. Dispensaries and brands use more B2B platforms to evaluate vendors, generate quotes, and restock. Companies that manufacture cannabis packaging and do not provide online ordering are at risk of losing customers to competitors that do.
Integration of Packaging and Technology
Modern software ensures features such as certification for child resistance and compliance with specific state requirements, as well as sustainability claims, prior to product shipment. Intelligent entrepreneurs consider their services as a technological partnership and offer packaging design proofs, order tracking, and compliance on demand through integrated platforms.
The Bottom Line
Applications have changed the way cannabis is sold, tracked, and packaged. Every dispensary, delivery company, and weed packaging company needs to prioritize technology as its most important asset to succeed in the rapidly evolving cannabis industry.
