With 2021 legal cannabis industry sales nearing $31 billion, and the challenges presented by a growing cannabis black market, most Americans (76%) said they expect in-store cannabis dispensary shopping to equal traditional retail store experiences, according to a recent Harris Poll online survey commissioned by Urbn Leaf, California’s premier cannabis retailer. Thirty-six percent say a clean store environment is one of the most important factors for a positive shopping experience; 32% want a variety of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) percentage options, and 31% want educated sales associates. “Consumers are demanding a new industry standard for cannabis retail, especially in light of the black market in California, which has no regulatory oversight or seed to sale tracking for quality control, presenting a huge risk to consumers with no transparency to growing or manufacturing processes of what they are ingesting,” said Ed Schmults, CEO of Urbn Leaf. “As an example, in a recent test in Monterey County in California, of 55 random samples of illegal cannabis pulled from across the county, 84% of products failed official laboratory testing due to contamination. We must exceed customer expectations and offer reputable and licensed retail experiences, Urbn Leaf already has a number of clear retail initiatives in place that provide a best-in-class experience with more to come in 2022.” Urbn Leaf expanded its modern product displays making it easy for store guests to explore product options and continues to host staff training and education supporting curating personal shopping experiences. It uses CanPay, a cashless phone app checkout linking to consumer banking information that eliminates trips to the ATM, and an online ordering eCommerce platform for skipping lines and fast pick-up. Free delivery is available with a minimum $50 purchase at select delivery stores.
420 Intel – Marijuana Industry News, 12/20/2021 19:00:00