Deep Dive: A Look At Urbana, one of the first Modern Dispensaries
Image: Marijuana Venture Magazine
Marijuana Venture recently ran an excellent feature on Urbana, which is credited as one of the pioneers of the "modern" cannabis dispensary and retailer.
The full article is worth a read, but a few of our favorite takeaways are listed below.
Open Retail Formats trump behind-the-counter formats: Urbana was one of the first stores to experiment with an open retail formats, meaning customers and budtenders freely roam the retail area (think Apple Store), and consultations and transactions don't necessarily occur in a centralized POS area. This creates an environment where customers can evaluate products for themselves, taking as much or little time and budtender input as necessary to make their decisions. This results in a better customer experience, and more efficient transactions.
COVID moved customer decisions online: Like many retailers and dispensaries, Urbana saw a dramatic shift in customer behavior due to COVID. Instead of making their decisions and purchases in person in the store, customers began making decisions and orders online. This meant that marketing and promotional efforts likewise migrated online, and vendor days/demo days became antiquated. In this transition, Urbana became an ecommerce store as well as a brick and mortar store.
Being Collaborative helps the entire industry
Urbana CEO Marty Higgins has a refreshing take in a competitive industry. He believes there is room for many organizations to succeed in the growing cannabis industry, and thus freely provides advice to anyone who asks it, even if that info may benefit a competitor. He summarizes this pay-it-forward viewpoint, saying "“When I was first starting out, there were a number of people that were very generous with their time. So, whether it is a dispensary or a brand owner that has reached out, I’ve freely given any advice or suggestions that I thought could help.”
Read More: Staying a Step Ahead [Marijuana Venture]
