Selling the Sizzle and the Steak
It used to be so easy to buy cannabis: Call your source, or maybe drop in on a neighbor. Then head shops became a thing, cementing the laid-back, low-pressure, artsy environment that so fully embodies the stoner stereotype . The mellow ideal worked for a while, but maturing legal markets have changed the vibe. Excitement is the new buzzword in retail as the plant moves ever closer to becoming just another consumer commodity. Consumers increasingly look to in-store shopping to provide community, information, and entertainment, and dispensaries are responding with album-release parties, presentations about the plant’s medicinal properties, trivia contests, and immersive environments. This is experiential retail , a long-established concept in older sectors. Traditional retailers have incorporated special events and ancillary activities to build excitement since at least 1861, when children began sitting on Santa’s lap in Macy’s iconic New York store. In 1931, legendary toy emporium FAO ...