Preview: Labor costs are challenging for the cannabis retail industry.

The retail industry’s success has taken a turn for the worse.

The retail industry is huge — according to a report produced by eMarketer.com, in 2014, retail sales were more than $22 trillion, and almost every year, roughly 67 percent of the United States gross domestic product (GDP) is derived from retail consumption.  

However, in recent years, the retail industry’s success has taken a turn for the worse. 

Many consumers now prefer to shop online, rather than in traditional brick and mortar stores. 

Cannabis Has Brought Back Brick & Mortar Retail

Brick and Mortar Retail Stores Impacted Adversely

For instance, every month, approximately 200 million people across the globe shop on Amazon. In fact, as of 2018, Amazon’s share of the ecommerce market was a staggering 49 percent, making the brand the largest online retailer in the world. 

Though the growth of online shopping has clearly benefited companies such as Amazon, ithas adversely impacted brick and mortar retail stores. 

In 2016, many filed for bankruptcy and permanently closed their doors, leaving malls across the nation vacant. 

Simply put, traditional retailers cannot keep up with online ones, particularly because of expensive labor costs, which significantly decrease profit margins.  

Cannabis has brought Back Brick & Mortar

According to Cannabis Educator & Consultant Emma Chasen “Dispensaries aren’t going away anytime soon. “I think the market will favor dispensaries because consumers want and need guidance.”

Labor costs are one of the largest expenses for brick and mortar stores.

Labor costs are one of the largest expenses for brick and mortar stores. Data from the United States Department of Labor even found that on average, traditional retailers spend nearly 20 percent of total earned revenue compensating workers. 

This statistic is only projected to increase with time because wages are on the rise — from March 2019 to March 2020 retail worker’s salaries increased by 2.8 percent.  

Retailers spend an immense amount of resources preparing staff.

Beyond paying employees, retailers also spend an immense amount of resources preparing them. In 2016, the Association for Talent Development’s industry report concluded that businesses spend more than $1,200 and 33.5 hours just to train one employee.

If a worker unexpectedly quits or is terminated, all the time and money spent on the individual’s growth and development becomes a sunk cost.  

Imagine this expense with 40% of Budtenders quitting in the 1st month

Self-Ordering Kiosk’s innovative technology replaces the need for expensive labor.

To overcome the challenge of high labor costs, many retailers have begun to adapt a simple and revolutionary solution into their business model — self-ordering kiosks. 

The innovative technology replaces the need for expensive labor and allows consumers to purchase goods or services in a fast and efficient manner. 

Kiosks also don’t need to be trained. Simply customize the machine to meet the needs and wants of your business, and it’s ready to go! 

Paywana provides Self-Ordering Kiosk’s run by our proprietary for Cannabis and CBD dispensaries to reduce labor costs.

Time and time again, kiosks have been proven successful.

Time and time again, kiosks have been proven successful. In 2015, for example,  McDonald’s began to implement kiosks into its stores. 

The shift has helped the infamous fast food chain win back a shocking $2.7 billion in lost sales. By the end of this year, McDonald’s hopes to install kiosks in most of their 14,000 locations. 

However, McDonald’s is just one of the thousands of examples of how kiosks are saving the retail industry from the challenge of high labor costs. 

Hundreds of retail stores have begun to install kiosks. This simple switch has decreased wage expenses, and in effect, allowed these businesses to keep their doors open. 

Conclusion

The Cannabis dispensaries are here to stay. Online ordering will have it’s place but for now nothing will replace the experience of buying from these beautifully designed dispensaries. You need to keep an eye on your labor costs. Utilize technology like self-ordering kiosks to control expenses.

Retail is detail and cannabis retail is here to stay.

About Paywana

Paywana provides self-ordering kiosks run by our proprietary to Cannabis and CBD dispensaries to reduce labor costs and increase profits, We offer everything needed to efficiently operate and manage your dispensary including interactive kiosk software, Cannabis and CBD friendly payment processing solutions. Visit Paywana.com for more information.