Powered By the 2025 Cannabis Shopper Experience Report by Sweed

As cannabis becomes more and more integrated into the daily lives of consumers, the expectation that dispensary shopping aligns more closely with mainstream retail continues to increase. Specifically, modern shoppers are becoming more informed about cannabis and are holding dispensaries to a higher standard when it comes to digital ease and personalization. However, while consumers have evolved, many dispensaries haven’t kept pace. 

Sweed’s 2025 Cannabis Consumer Snapshot Report reveals what shoppers expect, and what winning retailers are already doing to set the tone for 2026 and beyond to grow their margins and their bottom line. 

Here are some high-level takeaways from the guide: 

• The budtender effect – Expertise still matters: Staff knowledge is a top loyalty driver, but budtenders need support from the right tools. 
• Personalization – The new battleground for loyalty: Personalization is no longer a “nice-to-have,” but is the single strongest predictor of loyalty.
• Digital convenience is now mandatory: If your digital experience is clunky, you’re losing sales before customers even arrive. 
• Price, promotions, and value drive dispensary choice: Price and promotions aren’t just incentives; they’re behavior-shaping levers. 
• The rise of cannabis holidays: Holiday campaigns must be more innovative, more personalized, and more digitally driven. 
• Shoppers want ease, education, and speed in-store: Choice overload and slow checkout are two of the industry’s most significant friction points.
• Loyalty expectations have changed: Loyalty programs only work if they’re easy, transparent, and personalized. 

‍

Why Retailers Are Struggling to Keep Up

Retailers and dispensary staff are only as effective and efficient with keeping up with these consumer trends as the technology they have available to them, and the gap between consumer expectations and retail execution remains wide. Specifically, the Cannabis Consumer Survey identified several gaps within the retail landscape that significantly impact operational success: 

• Only 29% of shoppers feel they receive relevant promotions. 
• Menus remain overwhelming and inconsistent. 
• Personalization is largely manual and error-prone. 
• Staff training varies widely across stores. 

‍

The Roadmap to Winning Cannabis Shoppers in 2026 and Beyond

The Cannabis Consumer Survey uncovered the wants, needs, and expectations of cannabis shoppers to help operators stay aligned with the evolving cannabis shopper, and the results are clear. Shoppers want: 

• Dispensaries that are easy to find and navigate. 
• A shopping experience that is simple, personalized, and fast. 
• Loyalty, digital convenience, expertise, and pricing that is seamless and connected.
• An experience that leverages data and AI to refine every interaction continuously. 

While the 2025 Cannabis Consumer Snapshot Report offers the complete roadmap into these findings and how retailers can optimize their operations today to capitalize on these trends, Sweed is the growth engine behind smart dispensary operations, powering intelligent, connected, and personalized experiences for consumers. Specifically, Sweed solves these issues through: 

• AI-powered personalization 
• AI-supported budtender tools
• Digital convenience at every step 
• Loyalty designed for retention

Learn how Sweed can optimize your operations in 2026 and beyond. Schedule a demo with our team of experts. 

‍

Download the full 2025 Cannabis Consumer Snapshot Report.