Category: Cannabis Displays and Store Fixtures

Designing the layout and retail experience of your dispensary is an important part of your revenue.

With more states and countries legalizing cannabis for medicinal and recreational use, competition is increasing. The presentation of your products and experience in your retail cannabis dispensary will make a difference in overall revenue.

Aesthetics and merchandising aren’t reserved only for traditional retail stores – dispensaries also use eye-catching displays to generate more sales.

Designing the dispensary sales floor with sophistication and customer engagement in mind can help you increase revenue and customer satisfaction.

Here are seven tips for improving the displays and merchandising of your dispensary products.

1. Highlighting Cannabis Flower

Some dispensaries have the flower samples displayed behind the counter, or not displayed at all. The customer does not have a chance to see the flower or smell the terpene aroma.

The current trend for rapidly-growing dispensaries is to display the flower samples in securely sealed and tethered cannabis “sniff jars”. These allow the customer to see the intricate details of the flower and smell the aroma of the cannabis strain, while keeping the samples secure from tampering.

By allowing customers to peruse the samples and get an idea of what they are purchasing, it improves the customer experience, and can lead to more sales.

2. Ingrained Pricing in the Product Displays

Customers browsing the dispensary look for information on the strains they are analyzing before they buy. One way that modern dispensaries show strain information is a placard built into the display itself. This conveys data about the strain such as type of strain, THC level, CBD level, name of the strain, and other info. Utilizing professional store fixtures that display this product information helps the sales process by using information-rich merchandising.

3. Use Wall Displays and Fixtures

When customers enter your dispensary, their eyes are drawn to different focal points. Product displays can take the form of sampling tables or interactive displays on the sales floor. Using wall displays and fixtures can also be an effective way to use your floor plan to show different cannabis and CBD products. By putting products at eye level, it can raise awareness of different cannabis products, and help drive sales of a diverse mix of products.

4. Use Digital Displays and Media

Many dispensaries use display media and digital menus to create a professional appearance and impart crucial information. This frees up budtenders to answer follow-up questions, making sales more streamlined. These digital displays can also help educate the customers on product information.

Videos, photos, digital menus, interactive displays, and other high-engagement media involves the customer base in the cannabis purchasing experience. These displays can also add a unique touch to your facility and help suggest new products.

5. Planning Product Visibility

It takes planning and effort to arrange displays in your store to prioritize product lines you want to sell. Just as traditional retail stores make certain items more visible to increase sales, dispensaries should plan merchandising around key products to increase revenue.

If there are promotions running on specific products, make those clear and apparent when customers enter the store. Visibility creates awareness and interest in the cannabis products you want to sell more of. Work with your budtenders to make sure they are aware of any ongoing promotions, so they can suggest them to customers.

6. Upsell Small Products at the Register

Have you ever noticed that traditional retail stores always put smaller impulse items near the checkout lines and register? This is because people tend to buy items that are presented to them right before checkout.

By placing a few items at the checkout station, you can pick up additional sales. Some countertop product displays that work well include pre-roll displays, small pipes, or nitrogen cans.

7. Interior Store Design and Layout

One final thought on dispensary design is planning the design and layout of the sales floor. Dispensaries today resemble high-end experiences found at other retail stores. Warm lighting, spacious pathways, and professional displays all add to the overall customer experience.

Crowded retail spaces that are jammed with too many products can make the sales floor look cramped and unappealing. Allowing customers to browse comfortably from a reasonable number of products creates a more relaxing atmosphere. Ambience is a vital part of the retail dispensary experience.

Need Help with Retail Displays for Your Dispensary?

For more than 25 years, Bud Bar Displays has been helping dispensary owners with innovative product displays. Our product line of dispensary cabinets, cannabis display pods, concentrate displays, and other dispensary displays are used in dispensaries worldwide.

Our award-winning team is ready to help you find the perfect configuration of retail cannabis displays for your shop. You can order online directly from our e-commerce store, reach out via email, or call us directly at (916) 858-2000.

Cannabis flower is sold in dispensaries in sealed bags, jars, or tins. These come in three distinct kinds: indica, sativa, and hybrid.

Customers who enter your dispensary may browse the product displays and examine the sample flower displayed in securely tethered pods. As the customers sniff the aroma of the terpenes, they might wonder about the strains of the various flowers.

This is where product display placards can help educate customers and facilitate merchandising.

Product Displays that Highlight Flower Information

Some cannabis product displays have built-in areas for display cards. These cards can contain information about the strains: whether they are indica, sativa, or hybrid. These cannabis information cards can also include information such as THC level, CBD level, the name of the strain, and price for various sizes.

This allows dispensary customers to examine the flower samples on the sales floor while getting relevant information about the strains they want to buy. This product merchandising helps convey info about the cannabis products before the budtenders administer personalized customer service.

Need Retail Display Ideas for Your Dispensary?

For more than 25 years, Bud Bar Displays has been designing award-winning retail displays and store fixtures. Our experience in designing and manufacturing display cases and cannabis displays for dispensaries worldwide has given us insight into the legal cannabis industry.

Whether your need displays for a dispensary large or small, we can help you determine exactly how to design a memorable customer experience.

If you need help with choosing the right product displays for your dispensary, contact the team at Bud Bar Displays, or call us at (916) 858-2000.

Cannabis is a rapidly growing industry, with 37 states, four territories, and the District of Columbia approved medical marijuana.

Additionally, 19 states, two territories, and Washington DC have approved recreational use of cannabis.

All states with legal cannabis products have regulations on how the products can be accessed. There are laws and regulations regarding security on a facility-wide basis. For example, most states require customers to be at least 18 years of age, and present ID before being admitted to the retail portion of the dispensary. Security cameras, controlled access, and security systems are part of regional compliance.

But security regulations also extend to product displays on the sales floor. Customers should not be able to access flower samples or tamper with product displayed in the dispensary.

Cannabis product displays can maintain security compliance while still highlighting the attractiveness of the products. Below, we look at six characteristics of dispensary displays that accentuate the product, while upholding state regulations for security compliance.

1. Educating Customers on Product

As many states, regions, and countries introduce legislation to legalize cannabis for medical (and in some cases, recreational) use, many new customers are going to be coming to your dispensary. New cannabis customers will have lots of questions about the products and their characteristics. As they embark on their cannabis experience, your dispensary has an opportunity to educate new customers about your product selections.

Display cabinets and containers can become much more than fixtures where products reside. By integrating information about each flower into a cannabis display pod, customers learn more about the different strains. A display cabinet for CBD products that shows information about each edible or concentrate will help customers make an informed decision. Displays that are built with product information in mind can highlight data via use of card holders where product information can be shown. Interactive displays that combine multimedia with product samples allow customers to learn about cannabis products through self-exploration.

Ideally, retail cannabis displays should add to the shopping experience, and reduce barriers to learning about, viewing, and engaging with the dispensary products. The end result is more satisfied customers, more questions about the products answered, better product education, and increased sales.

2. Compliance with Local Regulations

Cannabis dispensaries must follow state and local regulations to continue doing business. In some states, patients must have a medicinal marijuana ID card to enter the facility and purchase cannabis products. Though several states have legalized recreational use, some states have laws which restrict any cannabis use whatsoever. Even in states or municipalities where cannabis is legalized, there may be opposition groups which look for non-compliance. By having secure cases with sturdy locks, locking display modules, and tamper-proof cannabis jars, your dispensary preserves compliance and integrity.

3. Theft Prevention

Cannabis dispensaries often have sample containers on the sales floor with flower, where customers can smell terpene aromas. These are sealed with tamper proof seals, or with a locking ring which cannot be opened without use of a tool. This prevents theft and tampering by customers who have intentions of shoplifting. They will be unable to open the cannabis smell jars and slip the product in their pocket. Secure display modules will help your dispensary with loss prevention.

4. Customer Safety and Perception

First impressions have a long-lasting effect. When customers enter your dispensary and see your cannabis products encased in secure cases, display pods, and locking ring sniff jars tethered to a display table, they know you are serious about security and safety. Remember that many people are shopping for legal cannabis for the first time, and they may be apprehensive about the experience. Keeping the product displays compliant means you are providing a safe, secure shopping experience.

5. Spectacular Presentation

No doubt about it, customer experience is a big part of earning return business at your dispensary. Part of the overall presentation of your cannabis store are the display cases, retail displays, and store fixtures. Merchandising your products in high-quality retail cases gives the impression that your dispensary and your products are also “world-class”.

6. Product Integrity

Certain cannabis products can be damaged by prolonged exposure to heat and light. Particularly, concentrates, oils, and extracts can undergo degradation by exposure to heat and light.

Many professional display cases use glass that minimizes damage caused by UV rays. These cannabis display cabinets excel at highlighting the premium products within. Creating a showcase retail display that draws the customer’s attention will help boost sales and promote selected products.

Need More Help Selecting Display Cases for Your Dispensary?

Bud Bar Displays_® was founded with the idea that cannabis displays should work efficiently to highlight and accentuate cannabis flowers, edibles, concentrates, and other products on display. Our team has consulted with numerous dispensaries across the United States and internationally.

Our product line of retail displays helps create a refined and professional look for cannabis dispensaries. The overarching goal we have is to create a better customer experience between budtenders and clients.

If you are opening a new dispensary, or expanding an existing dispensary, our team can help you select the perfect displays for your facility. Browse our online e-commerce store for display cabinets, secure cannabis display pods, extract and concentrate displays, and countertop displays.

Today’s legal cannabis customers are discerning, sophisticated, and expect an immersive experience at their local dispensaries.

At the same time, professional budtenders are tasked with keeping up with an ever-increasing product selection, maintaining a high level of customer service, and managing customer flow.

While in-store training helps keep dispensary clerks knowledgeable, even the most prolific of cannabis sommeliers can use assistance.

This is where modern cannabis displays can help augment the experience for customers, and help budtenders present product options in a smooth, seamless manner.

Let’s examine how the dispensary shopping experience has evolved over the last several years.

Customers Expect a High-End Experience

With medicinal cannabis being legal in 37 states and the District of Columbia, and 19 of those states also legalizing recreational cannabis, more dispensaries are opening than ever before.

Many customers are new to buying cannabis and CBD, and there is a basic lack of knowledge about these products, as they are still relatively new to the mainstream markets. Though dispensaries have evolved quickly to present the most professional image possible, as acceptance of cannabis for medicinal purposes becomes more widespread.

With multiple dispensaries in medium and large markets, presentation and customer experience become a differentiator.

Digital Signage

Information can be conveyed through digital signage at every point of customer contact within the dispensary. At the check-in desk, information about what identification or documentation a patient/customer will need can be displayed. Inside the main sales area, Digital signs can show cannabis menus, relay pricing information, or show flower attributes. Specials or promotions can also be shown on digital screens while customers wait in line or browse the dispensary.

Keeping up With Current Promotions

Have a monthly special your dispensary is running? Featuring these promotions on a digital sign can inform customers and remind budtenders of current offers. These can easily be changed to update POS marketing or weekly specials as needed.

Interactive Kiosks and Displays

Many customer facing screens are becoming interactive, with the ability to display additional product information from a touchscreen. Interactive displays feature stimulating digital content that give customers more insights on cannabis products and strains. This empowers legal cannabis shoppers to make informed decisions when purchasing cannabis products, while improving overall customer experience.

Product Information Displayed Prominently

Many customers browse the different products and cannabis strains on the sales floor. Most upscale dispensaries feature cannabis display pods or “sniff jars” that allow customers to analyze the samples visually while the pods are attached securely to their display stations.

Product information is built into the displays, allowing the customers to get strain information easily. Soft LED lighting, optimized for retail displays, accentuates the cannabis flower samples. As the customers browse the sample displays, they can safely smell the terpene aromas of each flower without risk of contamination.

Retail displays that show the product information within the display itself allow budtenders to help customers on the sales floor.

Inventory Security

Many states have regulations for how cannabis products are displayed and secured. For example, concentrates may need to be displayed in a secure case, while flower samples are required to be sealed in a sniff jar display pod, either with a locking mechanism or tamper-proof seal. Publicly accessible cannabis samples are often required to be secured via tethering to a display base or mounted base.

Your dispensary can follow regional regulations while still having best-in-class retail displays. This helps position your facility as sophisticated and safety-compliant, without sacrificing upscale qualities.

Budtender Resources

Electronic displays can also be utilized in employee areas like the break room or meeting rooms. By using monitors with rotating information, employees can be educated on product knowledge through passive messaging.

Budtenders can also be trained on sales techniques to use on the sales floor, using display features to educate and empower customers.

Social and Loyalty Programs

Signage and displays within the dispensary can help inform customers of loyalty programs for your brand. Gathering customer details like email or text messaging opt-ins can help produce repeat sales. Reminding customers at the point of sale of programs for repeat customers or social media promotions is also a way to boost sales and increase monthly recurring revenue.

Overall Retail Experience

When customers leave your dispensary, they should feel like the budtenders were knowledgeable and helpful, the shopping environment was safe, and the overall experience was pleasant. The layout of the sales floor, aesthetic of the storefront, check-in desk, displays, and signage all contribute to the overall feeling of the shopping experience.

Marketing Challenges

Increasing competition, an evolving market, employee churn, and local licensing fees and leases are universal challenges all dispensaries face. By implementing focused marketing efforts to customers, augmenting budtender knowledge with enhanced display information, and reducing cognitive load in processing information, your dispensary can nurture loyal customers that keep returning to your shop.

Need Personalized Help?

If you need advice or help on selecting the ideal retail displays for your dispensary, contact the team at Bud Bar Displays. Our experts can help you with designing and implementing a dispensary display experience that will satisfy customers and increase revenue.

Legal cannabis is a growing industry in the United States with no signs of slowing down. Standing out as a dispensary is vital, as competition is ubiquitous.

Currently, cannabis is legal in 37 states with a doctor’s prescription, with 18 states, Guam, and Washington DC fully legalizing cannabis for recreational use. Additionally, a 2022 report by Leafly shows that 428,059 full-time equivalent jobs were in the legal cannabis industry as of February 2022, an increase of 33% from 2021.

With an abundant amount of cannabis dispensaries opening in major and small markets alike, the need to differentiate and retain customers is of prime concern to dispensary owners.

Below, we have put together a list of ways that your dispensary can distinguish itself from the crowd of competitors.

1. Establish a Brand That People Love

Your dispensary brand is more than a logo or an aesthetic, it is everything that people associate with your company. The work culture, customer service, company mission, overall customer experience (online and in-person) all contribute to your brand perception.

Every dispensary finds their own unique way to connect with customers, and great cannabis brands have a positive perception. Maybe your dispensary delivers excellent value or innovates in product delivery. Take time to decide what characteristics and values you want customers and the public to associate with your cannabis business.

2. Unify Your Online Properties

Customers will undoubtedly research your dispensary before traveling to your location to pick up their products. Create a highly polished website that reflects your professionalism and trustworthiness. Make sure your messaging is consistent on satellite properties like Google Business Profile/Google Maps, Yelp, Weedmaps, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok and other social media. Use a professional looking logo and display the same information in all your web properties, like hours of operation, and contact information.

Most dispensaries are physical locations, though an increasing number have mobile delivery. Having a unified presence on all your online touchpoints creates a consistent and positive customer experience.

3. E-Commerce

Most dispensary websites have a menu listed, and many have pre-order e-commerce capabilities. Make sure your website is professional-looking and easy to navigate. User testing to ensure customers can order products without friction will help solidify customer loyalty.

4. Look and Design of the Dispensary

Modern cannabis dispensaries are clean, upscale, inviting, well-lit, and professional looking. Customers get a similar experience to an upscale retail store. Each dispensary can put their own unique flavor on this experience, but the overall aesthetics should make customers feel right at home.

Shopping for cannabis products should be one cohesive, integrated experience. The outer waiting area should be well-lit, with proper signage, and with an appealing storefront. In the waiting area, customers are greeted by the store receptionists and checked in. Within the main dispensary area, customers see products clearly displayed, and are moved through a flow where they can see different products, they might be interested in.

Within the showroom of the dispensary, products are displayed using professional display cases and lighting. Budtenders attend to individual customers with courtesy, patience, and expertise to help them select the right product for their needs.

Leaving the dispensary, customers should remember that they had a safe, positive, and delightful experience shopping, reminiscent of a fine retail store.

5. Distinct Designs, Colors, and Aesthetics

Weaving your brand colors, mood, and branding materials into the retail displays in and around the storefront and dispensary is part of the overall experience. Little details can create an aura of professionalism, and make visitors want to return.

Each dispensary is unique in their design, though researching what the most successful dispensaries are doing can give you inspiration and ideas.

6. Educating Customers on Products

A large area of opportunity is educating your customers on the different cannabis and CBD products you carry, and the applications for each product.

This information can come from your company website, an email newsletter, the dispensary staff, or ideally all of the above!

Many people are still new to trying cannabis and CBD products, and may not know what products are right for them. By taking the time to listen to each customer, your budtenders can help them make informed decisions. By contributing your knowledge via resource pages or articles on your website, you can help potential customers learn what products are the best fit for their needs.

7. Design a Complete Sensory Experience

Customers in other retail stores take in information with their eyes, but also with their other senses. Cannabis dispensaries are perfectly suited for combining different sensory experiences like visual, smell, and touch. Displays like the Flower Tower™ allow customers to smell the aromas of different cannabis strains, while looking at the flower specimens in a secure container through a magnifying lens.

Specialized displays intermingle digital information with the visual appearance and terpene aromas of the different strains.

Customers are curious about what they are purchasing, and looking at flower through a locked display case only gives them part of the information they crave. Modern dispensaries use innovative designs to display cannabis flower in secure pods, tethered to display stations. This allows the customer to inspect the product before they buy.

8. Friendly and Welcoming Staff

You can create a stunning dispensary sales floor, but if the budtenders and staff aren’t excellent at customer service, it can ruin the experience for customers. Budtenders who have soft skills and empathy as well as expertise are a valuable asset to your dispensary.

9. After Store Experience

Once your customer leaves the dispensary, the brand experience isn’t over quite yet. If you have an email newsletter, or other email marketing tools, you can continue to inform them of deals and specials that are coming up. Text marketing is another way to send notifications about upcoming sales specials. Social media marketing is another way you can continue to keep your brand top of mind and build brand affinity with customers.

Professional Displays for Your Cannabis Dispensary

Do you need high quality display cases, fixtures, and product displays for your dispensary?

Bud Bar Displays designs and creates innovative displays for cannabis dispensaries. If you need display cases, cannabis display pods, extract displays, or other retail displays for your dispensary, browse our e-commerce shop, or contact us directly for help with your order.

Cannabis products are evolving rapidly with extracts being a huge part of that evolution.

The days of people being limited to cannabis flower are long gone with the list of new cannabis products expanding with consumers’ changing tastes. Extracts have taken the recreational and medical market by storm due to their potency and versatility. However, displaying and storing concentrates and extracts in your dispensary isn’t straightforward.

State and local regulations usually require that products containing THC or CBD are displayed with tamper-evident seals that visibly reveal whether the products have been touched or tampered with after sealing. While enforcing security regulations for cannabis concentrates, dispensaries must also display their products in an attractive fashion.

Effective extract and concentrate displays must strike a balance between effective retail merchandising and upholding local regulations.

What are Cannabis Concentrates?

Cannabis concentrates are marijuana-derived products with very high levels of THC as compared to top shelf cannabis flower. Concentrates can range from 40% to 99.58% THC levels, while premium cannabis has about 20% THC levels.

Patients can partake in concentrates to get a higher dose of cannaboids, which are chemical compounds found in cannabis, including THC and CBD.

Popularity of Cannabis Concentrates

A 2021 report by MJBizDaily showed that concentrate sales were up 40.5% from 2019 to 2020 in combined market of California, Oregon, Washington, Colorado, and Nevada.

The global cannabis concentrate market was estimated at $1.8 billion in 2019 and is expected to reach $5.9 billion by 2026.

Customers enjoy concentrates because of their flexibility, potency, and variety of products.

Challenges of Displaying Concentrates

Some cannabis concentrates are distributed as bottled oils or capsules, which can be displayed on a shelf. This retail display strategy will not apply to most concentrates. Part of the sales and merchandising process is displaying concentrates so customers can see the product, and sometimes smell the terpene aromas.

Here are just a few types of concentrates your dispensary might sell:

• Live resin – The resin is extracted from a freshly harvested cannabis plant using cryogenic freezing. Terpenes are preserved at a much higher rate than in other curing processes. Up to 60% more of the terpenes are retained in the creation of live resin.
• Kief – Loose cannabis trichomes (crystals) which are collected from flowers run through a sieve or mesh. Kief has a higher THC count, and has more of the psychoactive components than the flower from which it is derived.
• Hash – Created from trichomes or kief collected through drysifting flower. The trichomes are pressed using heat to create solid chunks of hash.
• Rosin – A cannabis concentrate made without solvents or chemicals. Cannabis is pressed between heated pads, causing oils to be extracted. This process is considered full-spectrum, meaning the cannaboid and terpene profile are preserved.
• Wax – also known as honey oil or Butane Hash Oil (BHO). Wax has different categories that are based on the consistency. Most cannabis wax is created by extracting THC from the plant using butane. Budder has a creamy consistency, crumble has a consistency like blue cheese, shatter is a high-potency concentrate that resembles glass.
• Terp sauce – aka High Terpene Full Spectrum Extracts (HTFSEs). Similar to live resin, but lower in THC, terp sauce is a cannabis extract with a high concentration of terpenes. Terp sauce is often combined with other more solid chunks of cannabis extracts, or put into a vape cartridge.

Some of these delicate, often sticky extracts aren’t really for pre-sale public handling so displaying them correctly is key to allowing potential customers a chance to analyse and smell the products prior to purchase.

Here are some of the options you have for displaying concentrates in your dispensary.

Selecting Concentrate Displays for Your Dispensary

When it comes to extract displays for dispensaries, Bud Bar Displays^® stands above the crowd. We produce the most extensive adaptable lines of extract displays on the planet and all of our displays are made in the USA using only FDA-approved plastics.

Additionally, our range is as versatile as it is large, we have a display for any size cannabis company; we even have portable displays that are great for offsite events. Starting off small, a collection of Silicone Lined Display Jars can suit any budget. Or maybe it’s a range of extract pens or cartridges you would like to highlight in your store? If so, the Xtract Pen and Cartridge Tray will set you apart from the competition. This POP display is designed to accommodate a variety of shapes and sizes, and with an LED option available, this display makes an elegant design statement while elevating the appearance of any product it holds.

If customer engagement is high on your priority list, then consider the futuristic terpene smell pod, the Puff-X Pod™. A quick press of the “puff button” will send a scent of the product through the micro-aroma holes as your customer views the extract intimately through the built-in magnifier.

For a simple and tasteful approach to selling extracts, the Xtract Elite™ will fit the bill; the unit was created from customer suggestions, and the result is a fantastic sales tool and cannabis display. The covered info pockets make your product descriptions look spotless and professional, so no need to wrap stickers around your jars. With your choice of eighteen 30g or 50g Sili’Pods included, and two lighting options to make it pop, this display will pay for itself in no time.

Then there’s our premium items for larger, more ambitious dispensaries. If you really want to impress your cannabis-loving clientele, nothing will get the job done like the Dab Bar Cabinet™. At 47” wide and 16” deep, this pristine LED-lit beauty can show off a head-turning 48 concentrate selections in style, each with their own description card. Offering six inclined trays at the perfect viewing angle, the Dab Bar Cabinet™ allows customers to better inspect the product in its individually removable pods.

Don’t see an extract display you like? No problem, just ask us and we will custom design one to suit your needs. Bud Bar Displays^® is your one-stop shop for extract and dispensary displays.