Restaurants have a lot to teach other industries – including cannabis. This is especially true because restaurants had to pivot quickly during COVID-19 to modernize their systems and handle spikes in online orders.
Takeaway features for better cannabis apps
We’re strong believers that online ordering is the future of cannabis, too. After all, dispensaries with order-ahead technology sell 22% more on average compared to those without this capability. Your cannabis business should take advantage of this trend by learning from restaurant best practices and getting a head start on providing user-friendly features. Let’s go through some key app features from restaurants that the cannabis industry could put to good use.
Here you’ll find some of the most popular features for restaurant apps that would work well for the cannabis industry, too. You can also check out these awesome cannabis apps to inspire your own.
Ordering
- Dynamic “menu” of cannabis offerings: Your offerings should never be displayed in a PDF. Instead, include a dynamic menu so that you stay SEO-friendly and can integrate it with the app’s check-out step.
- Filters: It’s essential to have filters so customers can find their ideal items. Filters such as price, popularity, characteristics, etc. can be helpful.
- Image extensive menu: Pictures of every item can really improve the user experience and ultimately get more sales.
- User reviews and ratings for every offering: Integrations with reviews and ratings can also be a great marketing technique that helps users make their selections.
- Remembering preferences: Loading previous preferences at the top of the “menu” can be a nice touch and help you build customer loyalty.
- One-click quick order: The ability to order something you’ve bought previously also slims down the ordering process and earns you loyal fans.
Paying
- Easy payment processing: Make sure you offer all popular payment methods your customers could want.
- Mobile payments: Mobile payments are an increasingly convenient way to pay directly from a digital wallet.
Delivery or pick-up
- Delivery or pick-up options: Not all states allow door-to-door cannabis delivery, but most offer pay and pick-up. Make it possible for users to select their preferred delivery or pick-up method during check-out.
- Online tracking to inform customers of order status: Tracking gives customers confidence that their order is being handled professionally. Integrating tracking is a huge plus.
- Push notifications for order status or offers: Push notifications should be used sparingly, but they make sense for giving updates on an order status or letting customers know of big offers.
Brand loyalty
- Brand loyalty programs for special deals, contests, coupons and rewards: You can generate a strong brand reputation by offering rewards for purchases. The ability to track points or promote deals in-app can be especially valuable.
- Collect feedback, run polls or add customer testimonials: Giving your customers a voice can be great to boost your products. You’ll also find out what needs improvement according to your real users. Collect feedback directly in the app for best results.
- In-app chat for complaints and suggestions: Great customer service often makes up for an ordering flop. Include an in-app chatting service to resolve any problems or complaints.
Other
- Pushing social media sharing and online content: Link your app directly to your social media channels on the thank-you page, or through easy-to-find buttons.
- On-demand translation: Menu translation is normal in the restaurant industry, and it should be in other consumer industries. Adding on-demand translation can earn you loyal customers.
- In-built reporting & analytics: Finally, you’ll need to dig into the analytics to understand how to improve your app and create effective marketing campaigns. Having access to an analytics dashboard can simplify these efforts.
Level up your cannabis app
By using these takeaways from restaurants, you can build an even better cannabis app. Remember that the cannabis industry is undergoing serious innovation and your business can get an edge by modernizing your app early.
Ultimately, building a cannabis app is a good investment for your business. And these cannabis app suggestions are just the start. For more ideas on promoting deals within your cannabis app, download our cheat sheet here.
