A new poll from a company in the California cannabis industry has revealed what customers expect when they visit a dispensary.
On Monday, San Diego-based Urbn Leaf released the results from a Harris Poll showing that customers expect in-store cannabis dispensary shopping to mirror traditional retail store experiences.
Harris conducted the online poll on behalf of Urbn Leaf from December 2-6, 2021, among 2,058 adults over 18 in the United States.
Urbn Leaf says Harris did not base the survey on a probability sample, and no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.
Keys to a Positive Shopping Experience
According to Urbn Leaf, 36 percent of respondents listed a clean store environment as one of the most important factors for a positive shopping experience.
The poll also showed that 32 percent want a variety of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) percentage options, and 31 percent want educated sales associates.
Urbn Leaf CEO Ed Schmults says consumers want a new industry standard for cannabis retail, particularly because of the California black market, which lacks regulatory oversight, quality control, and transparency for growing and manufacturing processes.
As a result, Schmults says the black market presents a huge risk to consumers.
“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,” says Schmults. “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.”
More Cannabis Users Means More Shoppers
Urbn Leaf says 2021 was a record year for the company as an increasing number of consumers are open to everyday cannabis use.
The company currently has seven California retail locations in Vista, San Diego, San Ysidro, La Mesa, Grover Beach, Seaside, and San Jose.
In addition to continued host staff training and education to support personal shopping experiences, Urbn Leaf says it expanded its modern product displays to make it easier for guests to browse products.
Urbn Leaf uses the cashless phone app CanPay that eliminates ATM trips, and an online ordering platform to speed up the checkout and pickup processes.
The company also offers free delivery for orders over $50 at select stores.
Urbn Leaf says that, in 2022, it will become part of StateHouse Holdings, a business combination of California cannabis company Harborside and Loudpack.
Loudpack is a cultivator, processor, and distributor of four Los Angeles-based cannabis brands.
According to Urbn Leaf, StateHouse will be one of the largest cannabis operators in California, with 15 retail locations and 230,000 square feet of greenhouse cultivation space.
Urbn Leaf says the retail locations include expected dispensary openings in the next 12 months, all of which will be converted or rebranded to Urbn Leaf stores except for the Harborside shop in Oakland.
