Five Dispensary Design Tips 2022

As an industry veteran since 2014 I’ve had the ability to test floorplans, layouts, customer flows, signage and display. Dispensary design should first and foremost be predicated around your states unique laws, retail rules and regulations. Everything mentioned here may not be allowed or legal in ever market, so take this into account when considering these ideas for your own shop. With over 8 years of cannabis retail experience, I’ve seen what works, what doesn’t, and how customers have evolved overtime. 

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Just like with any new industry, the cannabis industry is in its infancy and will continue to evolve, refine and improve as each market matures. Leveraging my 8-years experience owning both retail stores and a delivery service, these are our top five dispensary design tips for October 2022:

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1. Adequate and Plentiful Product Displays: Especially important for Adult-use recreational markets, adult-use should be fun and engaging, colorful and take the feel of an adult-use candy shop.
2. Kiosks: Kiosks allow weed snobs the ability to skip or avoid the line and help new consumers explore dispensary menu’s, product selections and prices.
3. In-store Signage: It’s retail 101, give your customers a hand and help guide them through your dispensary to ensure a smooth and seamless customer experience.
4. Medical Market Wait Rooms: These can really be a key to success and provide medical dispensaries a critical opportunity to learn more about the customer. Waiting rooms should be clean, laid out well with up to date print menus or digital menus/kiosk. This is a perfect spot to put any consumer information, educational materials, ATM and industry magazines.
5. Product Displays / POP Displays / Freestanding Security displays: Both medical and recreational dispensaries should feel obligated to showcase your active menu across all product categories, and consider POP displays like J-display which helps stores sell more pre-rolls at the point of sale.

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Conclusion

As the cannabis industry continues to grow and evolve, dispensaries are leading innovative design and customer experiences. Customer flow, display cases and product merchandising are key factors that contribute to the look and feel of a dispensary, but its important to build your own brand, develop your own dispensary voice that takes into account cultural and regional adaptations, pandemics, and evolving buyer preferences. We’ve identified common dispensary design trends among the best-performing stores in Medical and Recreational markets across the US and Canada and the common thread is cannabis product displays, dispensary merchandising and the end-to-end customer experience online and in-store.