Dispensary sales are certainly not immune to traditional retail sales methods. Naturally, customers love seeing big deals and feel good when they feel like they got a good deal on something they want or need. The trick with dispensaries is batting the need to capture customer attention while balancing the razor-thin margins that plague the cannabis industry. There has been a conversation about the ‘race to the bottom in the industry and primarily how to avoid it. A race to the bottom only reduces margin and delivers short-term sales that aren’t sustainable long-term. We want to offer solutions that do still offer tantalizing dispensary deals without contributing to the race to the bottom plaguing the industry- and we’re doing it with mind tricks. This is the psychology of dispensary deals to sell more flower.
Sales to the Nines
Sure it’s an old retail trick, but it’s old because it works. NetSuite calls this “charm pricing“ and it has to do with pricing ending in “99”. As they state, “the human mind subconsciously rounds that $599 to $500, as opposed to $600 — even though it’s unreasonable.” That means that marking a top shelf ounce at $299 vs. $300 will help it move faster- even if it’s basically the same amount (and after taxes, it’s a completely different number). Take advantage of the tried-and-true psychology method for yourselves and apply it to higher expense items to make them easier to digest for shoppers.
Buy Some Time
When looking at buying bulk flower, most customers are either stocking up for an occasion (camping, parties, etc.) or are looking to just make one big purchase to save themselves the trouble of having to return to the store for an 1/8th every week or so. By leveraging the idea of saving time with a bulk buy it could pave a path to larger cart averages and moving more flower with every customer interaction. An article from the Wharton staff describes the balance of time vs. money in advertising and muses that “the concept of time, for example, evokes a personal connection with a product in terms of the experience the consumer gains while using it.” Messaging around stocking up to save (with tiered flower pricing, of course) or skipping next week’s trip by doubling the quarter ounce to a half ounce makes that customer’s visit twice as valuable and messages that you value their time as much as they do. The article continues to state that “if you can dial up one’s thinking about time spent experiencing the product relative to thinking about the money spent to own the product, then you tend to get … beneficial effects.” Show your customers their time is better spent enjoying their flower rather than buying it. Empower them to take their time back and buy in bulk. And while you’re at it, nudge them toward the hand-trimmed top-shelf flower. They’ve earned it.
BOGO to Avoid FOMO
Sure, BOGO deals are a staple of outlet malls and convenience stores, but they do work in dispensaries. While a BOGO deal can be tricky to pull off, if they’re used correctly, they can turn a slow day into a booming sale. We’ve talked about working with your cannabis partners in the past, and they are an incredible resource for lining up BOGO or BOGO 50% deals. This blog on pricing psychology references a study that “found 66 percent of customers say BOGO deals are their favorite type of promotions and 93 percent have taken advantage of one.” It may be simple, it may have been done before, but it works. You can’t knock it if it works. BOGO deals keep your customers engaged and reward them simply for shopping. It could also lead them to be accustomed to buying in bulk with you- that your store is the place to stock up because they can get the best deal every time. It also doesn’t have to be a direct BOGO of the same SKU- something as simple as ‘buy a half ounce, get a pre-roll for a penny’ is still rewarding.
Bottom line- use psychology tricks to move more weight. By playing into some of the emotional and mental elements of the sale, you’re able to build stronger connections with your customers and earn their trust. And that trust turns into ounces. You can literally weigh their trust in grams. You can learn more about building trust on our blog- keep clicking to keep learning how you can better position your dispensary!
