Why E-Commerce is the Future of the Cannabis Industry

There are lots of reasons to be excited about the burgeoning cannabis industry growing up in countries and states that have opted to legalize cannabis for medical and recreational use.

Cannabis has a variety of applications, and there is a clear appetite for a wide range of different cannabis products, from CBD oil and edibles to classic smokeable bud. But due to cannabis unique position as a recently legalized product, many jurisdictions are working hard to ensure its successful transitions out of the black market.

To that end, several models for cannabis sales are being explored. But while dispensaries and cannabis boutiques have been getting a lot of the attention, most experts agree that digital sales will rapidly come to dominate this dynamic new market.

If you are interested in investing in the cannabis industry and want to make sure you get the most out of your money, here are three reasons why e-commerce is likely to offer the best return on investment.

1. It’s More Convenient

Let’s face it, when it comes to retail, there’s no longer any question that e-commerce is king. Given how easy and convenient it is to purchase everything from clothes and electronics to food and medicine online, it’s no wonder that many cannabis producers are investing heavily in e-commerce platforms that make it easy for them to connect to patients and customers.

In countries like Canada, e-commerce has rapidly become the most straightforward way to purchase cannabis products, partially because it is simply easier to order through the online government shop partially because many areas are not served by brick and mortar dispensaries.

2. It’s More Secure

In most places where cannabis has been legalized, there are still regulations ensuring it isn’t used by minors. This poses a challenge, as producers need to make sure that their product is only being sold to people of legal age.

Fortunately, the latest e-commerce tech comes with sophisticated age verification tools that help keep cannabis products out of the hands of children (you can check out this software to learn more about how these features work).

 

3. It’s Safer

Cannabis e-commerce platforms don’t just offer a more convenient and more secure way for consumers to purchase cannabis; they also make product tracking and recall much easier as well.

While the strict regulations around cannabis production mean that it is typically much safer to consume in terms of contaminants or bacteria than a head of lettuce. But using cutting edge e-commerce platforms provides an added level of security because it facilitates product recall.

Because producers need to track every leaf of cannabis they grow from seed-to-sale, should contamination be discovered, producers can contact directly every patient or customer who has received the product from a compromised batch.

Unlike other products, which have a long history of being sold in brick and mortar shops, cannabis has gone from being an underground substance to a legal one in the digital age.

This opens up all kinds of opportunities for digital entrepreneurs creating e-commerce solutions to help ensure that cannabis is sold and consumed responsibly and transparently.

If you want to see the future of legal cannabis, therefore, don’t look to the dispensaries — the cannabis of the future will almost certainly be purchased digitally.