Updating your in-store experience with cannabis digital menus keeps your walls filled with product, gives customers something engaging to look at while they wait, and educates your customers about your curated inventory with high-resolution photos, readable THC/CBD percentages, and transparent pricing.

Whether you’re building your storefront from scratch or looking to elevate an existing location, learning how digital display technology works can revolutionize the way you merchandise and manage your store every day.

Let’s dive into what you need to know about cannabis digital menus, from how they function to what you can do with them.

Outdated Displays vs. Modern Retail Tech

While many restaurants and general retailers adopted digital signage long ago, cannabis dispensaries were once dependent upon printed menus, clipboards, and handwritten chalkboards. Although this was acceptable during the early years of legal dispensaries, there are growing pains associated with analog menus:

• Dynamic Pricing & Inventory: Strains sell out, new batches arrive, and promotions are constantly rotating. Running to the printer to print new menus every day is costly and laborious.

• Lack of Visual Appeal: Printed paper isn’t very engaging! Digital displays allow you to show terpene charts, high-resolution product photography, and colorful educational graphics.

• Loss of Product Knowledge: If a budtender could spend their day helping customers rather than explaining sold-out products, they could provide higher-quality consultations.

Digital displays eliminate these pain points by connecting to your point-of-sale (POS) system. That means what you promote on screen directly correlates to what you have in stock on your shelves.

What are Cannabis Digital Displays?

Think of digital menus as an all-in-one hardware and software solution that displays your catalogs, pricing, potency percentages, and branding on screens located throughout your store.

Similar to restaurant POS systems, each product on your display will be connected to your store’s actual inventory. If a product hits zero quantity from your POS, the software will automatically remove it from your screen or mark it as sold out.

Here’s what constitutes a digital menu display:

• Cloud-Based Software (CMS): This is where your menu templates, promotional slides, and products live. You’ll be able to schedule content in advance and send updates to all of your screens from one central location.

• Hardware Screens: Commercial monitors or smart TVs located behind your register, around your showroom floor, or within your customer waiting areas.

• Integration with POS: We sync directly with your POS so your prices and inventory automatically update—there’s no need to manually enter information on your displays every morning.

Digital Menu FAQs

Below are answers to some common questions we receive about digital menus.

Should dispensary menus change daily?

YES. At dispensaries with fast-moving inventory, menu changes should happen every day. Strains sell out, new prices come in, new weights become available, and promotions rotate daily.

Here are three main reasons why dispensary digital menus change every day:

1. Reduce Customer Inconsistency: Let’s say a customer flips through your menu, decides what they want to buy, makes it all the way to your counter, only to be told it’s sold out. Digital menus ensure your signage is always accurate, which creates trust and shorter lines.

2. Promote Your Newest Products: New products are constantly coming in that you’ll want to highlight to your customers. Digital displays allow you to feature new inventory, bundle promotions, or weekly deals across all of your screens instantly.

3. Improve Operational Efficiencies: No more asking your staff to run to the printer every morning, or answering repeated questions about when new products will arrive. Let the software do the heavy lifting while your employees build real relationships with customers.

Benefits of Going Digital

When used correctly, digital display strategies can help your store run smoother and showcase your products more effectively.

• High-Quality Photos: Display clean, professional photos front and center, sorted into categories like flower, concentrates, edibles, etc. Make sure your menus are accompanied by easy-to-read fonts and typography.

• Customizable Branding: Take control of your menu templates and display your brand’s fonts, colors, and retail aesthetic.

• Improved Organization: Consider positioning similar strains, potencies, and price points near each other so customers can shop based on their preference without spinning around your entire showroom.

Digital Display Tips for the Cannabis Retail Space

In addition to maximizing your digital menus with the tips above, keep these best practices in mind when decorating your sales floor:

• Place displays where customers will spend most of their time waiting (near your reception desk and checkout lines).

• Use larger font sizes that are readable from anywhere on your sales floor. Don’t overcrowd your screens with too much text. Let your photos and visual branding speak for themselves.

• Separate your products into distinct sections so customers can easily browse different methods of consumption.

Cannabis Menus & Potency Questions

As cannabis retail evolves and digital menus become more prominent, we’ve also seen an influx of questions regarding potency. Below are some scenarios we’ve encountered and tips on how to properly manage these situations.

• Display menus with THC and CBD percentages clearly visible. That way, if someone is interested in a specific potency, they can eyeball the menus first without feeling pressured at the register.

• Educate your customers and learn how to “start low and go slow.” When customers browse high-potency concentrates or flower, chances are they may not have purchased that strength before. Teach your customers to take note of different menu descriptions so they can have a better understanding going forward.

• Include as much information on your displays as possible. Some consumers may want to learn more about certain cannabinoids or terpenes before speaking to an employee. With dynamic menus, you have the opportunity to share that data directly with customers while they browse.

Conclusion

Creating a frictionless shopping experience starts with having the right tools to adapt to quickly changing inventory. Digital menus are a simple yet powerful way to present your products while eliminating unnecessary inconsistencies and questions.

Learn how BudSense can simplify your digital display management and automatically sync your products across all screens by visiting our website.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do dispensary digital menus change everyday?

Yes! Every day new products sell out, fresh batches come in, promotions rotate, and weights become available. Learn more about why menus should change daily.

How do digital menus integrate with POS systems?

Our software seamlessly integrates with your POS backend. All pricing and inventory information is pushed directly to your screens. Learn more about POS integration.

Can I schedule promotions at certain times of the day?

Absolutely! You can schedule morning happy hours, daily specials, and promote certain slides to show on your displays at set times.

What do I need to run a display in my store?

To operate a display, you will need a commercial monitor, media player or streaming device, and internet connection to login to your cloud-based software. Learn more about display hardware.