Do you allow online purchases for later pickup? If so do you have a separate pickup window to speed up that process? What software do you use for online purchases and how do you like it?
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We are planning on online ordering and delivery via mail. The Canadian system is leaning towards that model as a component - in fact that is the current medical model - i can just log on to my producers website - make my order - 2-3 days later it is delivered to my door. it could be a good system if it was run by premium quality growers instead of corporate execs.
It’s looking increasingly like we will be building out our own platform and related software. There just don’t seem to be enough quality solutions.
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Interesting that Canada is doing mail delivery. Nothing like that in the US so far:
Delivery makes sense for folks who are using it for pain control and can’t travel easily. Still, might lead to some more mail theft once people realize that the package on your doorstep might have cannabis in it. I imagine all deliveries in Canada will have to be signed for, like alcohol deliveries?
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Yes it is all registered mail. You have to sign it. I am sure the postmaster knows when I get a delivery. She always has a little smirk on her face.
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Before GrowersHouse.com I used to work for The Green Cross Dispensary in San Francisco (thegreencross.org). Then it was strictly a delivering dispensary that drove smart cars all over SF. Most orders get to you in a hour. We were pretty efficient. One of my duties while there was to overhaul the website. I did and added online ordering.
They’ve since gotten a store front, and added sophistication to their online checkout menu, which works pretty well. You can see it in action here: http://thegreencross.org/menu (click on the quantity you want under the strain picture to select and add-to-cart).
@nathan I think most of the ecommerce platforms out there are easy to make elegant webpages with themes and templates. Also, the bigger platforms have so many extensions and inexpensive developers who can custom build any add-ons you may need. We use Magento (open source), but even a simple Shopify cart with some added extensions can probably do most everything you need. Are there certain features you noticed are missing from these carts?
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@Nate We have an ecommerce cms and wordpress for a front end and spreadsheets and quickbooks as a backend - but it’s only good for a small scale. Managing growing, distribution, and compliance will become increasingly complex as legalization changes the market. Compliance management and seed to sale tracking appears that it significantly applied in the Canadian legalization model.
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Looks like delivery services in Oregon are now on the table:
http://www.kgw.com/mb/life/marijuana-home-delivery-starts-in-oregon/406724967
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@nate & @nicholas, we have a WP e-commerce site. The challenges are many. Our site is PW protected. You must be a registered collective member to view wholesale pricing. Some folks are willing to jump on board and do paperwork and connect online, others are still in the back woods. We are doing our best to “act as if” in the growing regulatory environment.
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Hello all,
We are offering online ordering with our dispensary and grow platforms. Our platform ties to Metrc, and allows a certain allocation of product to be posted on line, where customers can order. We believe is a feature customers are used to having in other areas, and would want to see in the cannabis space.
In speaking to customers, they have expressed interest in online ordering as a way to implement an “express lane” for customers in the store. Also medical dispensaries have expressed the desire to offer patients a way to check their inventory online, to make sure their particular products are in stock, before they go to the store.
We are also working with some innovative payment solutions, that would allow customers to pay online, before they pick up in the store.
Kindly see https://www.greenmarimba.com for more information.
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I know that I often like to look products up for reviews before I go to a physical store too. It’s a great thing to see dispensaries include reviews on their websites.
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Meadow offers online ordering through our live menus, embedded wherever you want on your website.
Our menus are optimized for mobile (more than half of our orders come in from mobile devices now) and also track inventory so you know what you have in stock and no one orders anything you are out of.
This allows patients to browse or order ahead of time, for example if they are in a hurry during their lunch break or know what they want and the line is long.
Convenience is key!
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@the.bud.tenders.2u what is the largest problem you have faced with managing a delivery service and how have you overcome this problem?
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The largest problem is finding patients. Most people don’t seem to really
look at the product pictured and complain about what they received. They
don’t really get a good Gage of what they are getting by looking at
pictures. But our service has a mix and match policy. If you don’t like
what you get we can trade what you have left for something else in the same
range.
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Have you done any outbound marketing to find new patients?
Have you tried presenting patients with an infographic of the different strains you offer? I think it would be helpful if this infographic included the strain name, price, type, and flavor. Then you could present this to new patients when you make a first delivery, so they could reference it for future purchases.
That is a great way to keep your customers happy!
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@the.bud.tenders.2u here is a good marketing thread for some ideas on the infographic Marketing and Branding materials
I think the first picture shared by @nathan would fit well in a larger infographic you can give to first time patients.
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I wonder if this software would be appropriate for distribution companies, we have database of large amounts of cannabis all over CA, we are doing some retail over our site, but mostly we are contacted by cultivators
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