Everything changed in March 2020. The sudden stay-at-home orders across the U.S. altered the landscape of daily life, and yet the consumer marketplace couldn’t simply stop. Delivery, then, became a powerful force for commercial businesses. Cannabis was no different.
Because of the “essential business” tag that many states extended to cannabis retailers, it fell to dispensary owners to pivot and meet their customers in new places.
“What's happening in delivery was something that was going to happen anyway,” Ganja Goddess CEO Zachary Pitts told us. “The pandemic just jumped us ahead a couple of years. This happened in every aspect of our economy.”
From Amazon Prime to Uber Eats, delivery on a mass scale was more visible than ever this year. Companies like Ganja Goddess, which operates a delivery service in California (with a hub in Oakland), followed suit. Already, delivery was a powerful force in cannabis.
Global events simply pressed the fast-forward button this trend. In 2020, Pitts’ company reported 100% revenue growth from the year prior. Several important days stand out:
“Ganja Goddess experienced a more than 100% growth year-over-year [around the 4/20 holiday], along with a 275% increase in growth and 350% uptick in orders from the year prior on its California-based statewide online cannabis shopping, delivery and lifestyle platform on 4/20,” according to the company. Cyber Monday came up as the company’s second-biggest sales day, with 200% growth year-over-year.
So, looking ahead to 2021, what should cannabis business owners across the supply chain consider?
Here are six delivery tips for your retail business:
- Get acclimated with your state’s regulations surrounding home delivery.
- Consider online ordering platforms.
- Build your team and procedures.
- Communicate often!
- Double-checking is a virtue.
- Be safe out there.
