Debra Borchardt
Dispensary owners are looking for ways to reduce their labor costs and customers have no patience for waiting lines at their local dispensary. So, robotic vending machines seem to be a good solution for both.
Cannabis vending machines aren’t a new idea. Medbox began selling dispensary vending machines back in 2013 and 2014. The company though was charged with fraudulent revenue numbers and is no longer in business. M3Hub also makes a machine called Autospense. So far, the products haven’t had a big impact on the retail side, but that could chaneg as the boxes get more advanced.
This week, greenbox announced the launch of its intelligent kiosk. The company also revealed its first dispensary partners, including Sky Dispensaries and Erba Collective as well as shipping dates.
According to the company, greenbox is not like the others because it has an interactive touchscreen with the ability to vend multiple items during one transaction and is designed to streamline purchase flow by creating a fast and efficient customer experience. It has a temperature controlled safe and dispensary owners have the ability to track shelf life, identify trending products and service customers quickly. The company focuses on five core verticals: cannabis flower, edibles, extracts, CBD products and cannabis accessories — all of which dispensary owners control at their discretion.
“Automation is fueling almost every aspect of our world today, why should the cannabis industry be any different?” stated Zack Johnson, greenbox Robotics CEO and Founder. “From the moment we step out the door, our lives are simplified by the wonders of modern-day automation. Whether it’s placing a Starbucks mobile order, using driving assistance or using a voice command, consumers expect a fast, seamless and personalized experience. With greenbox, we are empowering dispensaries to automate the purchase flow and create a fast and private customer experience. By harnessing the power of today’s technology, greenbox users have the power at their fingertips to choose their own experience and dispensary owners can better allocate funds as well as manage their operation.”
The Apothecarium dispensary in San Francisco had a 45-minute wait one Saturday not long ago. Customers were stuck waiting in the lounge area thumbing through Dope Magazines and perusing promotional T-shirts. A kiosk would have been a welcome sight for a knowledgeable customer. Of course, a relatively new cannabis customer may prefer a human budtender to walk them through all the options and choices.
The greenbox is 6 feet tall and 4 feet wide and is equipped with a DIVI robotic arm that delivers a fantastic range of motion, speed, and precision to deliver just about any product that can fit through the shoot. With greenbox, customers can skip the line and expedite their in-store experience with an average shopping time of less than three minutes. Once credit cards are willing to be used for cannabis purchases greenbox says it can add that payment feature.
Each greenbox unit is located within the dispensary past the point of security in order to meet regulatory requirements. Taking it a step further, the company can also deploy biometric facial recognition to verify users. Dispensary owners pay a minor installation fee and monthly upkeep fee, which allows them to hand select and stock the kiosks at their own discretion as well as recognize trends and make recommendations based on purchase data.
Who knows, the next time you go to a dispensary, you may just need to tap on the screen of a greenbox.
