Never Miss A Sale:Benefits of Digital Menus Over Print Menus
Digital menus ensure you never tell your customers ‘it’s out of stock’ again.
Today’s customers move fast and make decisions within seconds, don’t let your menus hold you back from maximizing your sales. Digital menus transform how you differentiate yourself from your competitors and build connections with your customers to establish your dispensary as their “go to” place for cannabis. Traditional menus don’t live in the same fast-paced world customers seek but that doesn’t mean it’s the worst choice for some businesses. We’ve written this post to allow you to look at the advantages and disadvantages of both and make the decision that best serves your needs. Let's settle this debate once and for all.
The Modern Advantage: Benefits of Digital Menus vs Print Menus
A Nelson study found that the average consumer makes purchasing decisions in as little as 13 seconds in stores. This means you only have the first few seconds someone walks into your dispensary to convert them into a buyer. it requires you to engage your customers instantly with messaging that resonates and solves their needs. Having the right signage is the difference between someone making it to your checkout counter or back out on the street. Let’s look at both options closely.
Benefits of Digital Menus
Digital displays with the ability to change your content within minutes create a powerful first impression for your customers. When you invest in digital menus you equip yourself with the ability to communicate with your customers rapidly and follow them on their journey throughout the year as their needs shift. Consumers during the holidays need gifts to purchase for loved ones, while in the summer they need something to enjoy the warm days. Your digital screens can meet your customers where they’re at without you expending extra costs of reprinting or rewriting physical signage boards. This streamlines operations as well as saving costs for both staff time and printing.
One of the greatest sales secrets is to create a positive emotional experience for customers because when customers feel good they spend money. This survey gathered that 69% of Americans have admitted to emotions influencing their spending. Leverage that by giving your customers the feelings of being cared for.
Imagine you walk into a dispensary and see your favorite item on the menu, it's exactly what you’re looking for but the budtender tells you they just sold out. The disappointment causes you to leave the dispensary with a sour taste in your mouth, you almost had your favorite product. Now imagine that you walk into a dispensary where you don’t see your favorite product on the menu at all but you see some similar stuff advertised. You feel curious so you tell your budtender what your favorite product is and then end up purchasing one of their recommended alternatives which turns out to be great. You leave feeling as if you’ve been catered to and understood even though your product wasn’t in stock. Be intentional in the feelings you give your customers from the second they enter your door and you will find yourself selling your inventory faster and faster.
Let’s summarize the advantages of digital menus:
Real-Time Updates – Instantly update pricing, inventory, and promotions.
Enhanced Customer Experience – Clear, visually appealing displays improve navigation.
Increased Sales – Highlight deals, upsell products, and educate customers.
Compliance-Friendly – Easily update regulations and product details as required.
Cost-Effective – Reduces printing costs and minimizes labor for manual updates.
Brand Consistency – Maintain a professional, sleek look across locations.
Integration with POS Systems – Sync inventory and avoid out-of-stock disappointments.
Engaging Content – Use animations, videos, and strain education to enhance engagement.
Faster Service – Reduces wait times by helping customers make quicker decisions.
You can pair your digital menus with tablets to optimize customer flow and increase your sales. This technique eliminates the perception of waiting in line that helps to create those good feelings you want to inspire in your customers.
Benefits of Print Menus
Print menus have the backing of tradition and familiarity, we know that cannabis consumers prefer the familiar which is why pre-rolls continue to be the preferred consumption method across North America. If you’re reluctant to move towards the direction of the world with emerging technology like AI enhancing business operations and customer services across all sectors, you can opt for traditional menus complemented by digital signage.
When compared directly with digital signage, other than a lower upfront cost which we’ll break down further in this article, we can’t see any advantages over digital menus. Using both together creates a well-rounded shopping journey that caters to different buying habits and preferences your customers may have.
A printed menu acts as a physical reference that customers can hold and browse at their own pace, especially if they prefer a more traditional shopping experience and want to hold a physical catalog. Some customers may find scrolling digital screens overwhelming or too fast-paced, while a printed menu allows them to focus on product details without distractions.
Print menus also encourage deeper engagement as items may be out of stock which creates natural prompts for conversation with budtenders. A customer waiting in line can pick up a menu, review options, and make a decision before reaching the counter—ultimately speeding up transactions. Printed menus can also be designed with branding elements, strain education, or product highlights that reinforce the dispensary’s unique identity.
From an operational standpoint, print menus serve as a backup when technology fails. In the event of a screen malfunction or internet issue, staff can still guide customers through the selection with a daily up-to-date printed menu, ensuring business continuity.
Let’s summarize the advantages of print menus:
Enhances Customer Experience – Provides a tactile, easy-to-read option for those
Conversation Starters – Customers make inquiries about products once they’ve made their selections.
Serves as a Backup – Ensures business continuity during technical issues of any kind.
By pairing digital menus with counter top print menus, dispensaries can create a seamless experience that blends modern convenience with traditional engagement, catering to a broader range of customer preferences.
The Financial Advantage: Cost Comparison of Digital vs Traditional Menus
When choosing the right signage for your dispensary, consider the initial investment and long-term costs of both traditional and digital signage. While digital menus require a higher upfront cost, they provide greater savings and revenue-generating opportunities over time. Traditional menus, on the other hand, offer a lower initial expense but lead to recurring costs for updates and replacements as any slight changes requires an entire reprint.
Upfront Costs vs. Long-Term Savings
Digital Menus: The initial investment for digital menus includes purchasing high-quality screens, media players, and software subscriptions. However, once installed, updates are virtually free, eliminating ongoing printing and design expenses. Depending on your digital signage company you may also have access to professionally designed templates and content to feature on your screens that help educate your customers and sell your products.
Print Menus: Lower initial cost, but frequent reprints due to pricing changes, product availability, and compliance updates. If you’re having staff handwrite products there is also staff time and salary to consider which can add up depending on how often you’re manually updating menus. Looking at your inventory and manually building menus is a time consuming process which all equals more money spent.
Operational Efficiency and Hidden Costs
Digital Menus Save Labor Costs: Updating prices, promotions, and inventory in real-time reduces the workload for staff, freeing them up to focus on customer service rather than manually updating boards or printing new menus or handwriting on boards.
Traditional Menus Require Maintenance: Chalkboards and printed menus demand regular updates, increasing labor hours and potential errors when updating manually. This also includes having to tell customers often that products are out of stock which can pose the danger of becoming the location where "nothing is ever in stock" and losing potential customers.
Revenue-Boosting Potential
Digital Menus Drive Higher Sales: With dynamic promotions, eye-catching visuals, and the ability to highlight trending or high-margin products, digital screens can directly influence purchasing decisions, increasing basket sizes at checkout. This means your digital signage serves as an additional sales person and helps get your inventory out the door faster.
Digital Menus Support Take-Home Marketing: A well-designed menu TV can drive repeat business by keeping your dispensary top of mind when customers plan their next visit for cannabis procust.
Which Is More Cost-Effective?
In dispensaries where products are constantly changing, digital menus integrated with your POS offer significant savings and efficiency over time. When paired with tablets, the two create an ecosystem that allows customers to have a browsing experience similar to retail and take their time looking through products. This eliminates the overwhelming feeling customers experience when faced with glass counters full of products they can’t read and menu boards full of product names that don’t make much sense. Your customers will feel like your dispensary carries everything ensuring you're top of mind when they think of making cannabis purchases.
Another option is a hybrid approach, combining digital displays with printed counter menus, providing customers with the best of both worlds. Digital signage can serve as a powerful tool for real-time updated menus, promotions, and educational content, while print menus give your customers a catalog to hold and feel their way through.
Key Takeaways:
Digital menus cost more upfront but provide long-term savings, better sales impact, and operational efficiency.
Traditional menus have a lower initial cost but require ongoing expenses and labor for updates.
Hybrid Approach: Using digital screens for real-time updates and printed counter menus for in-hand browsing creates the best balance between cost, efficiency, and customer engagement.
Questions
How do digital menus help dispensaries avoid out-of-stock disappointments?
Digital menus integrate with your POS system to provide real-time inventory updates, ensuring customers only see the available products. This prevents the frustration of customers selecting an item only to be told it’s unavailable. Instead, you can highlight alternative options, increasing the chances of a sale while maintaining a positive customer experience.
Are digital menus more cost-effective than traditional print menus?
Yes! While digital menus require a higher upfront investment, they eliminate recurring printing costs and reduce staff labor needed for manual updates. Over time, you save money while benefiting from enhanced sales through promotions, upselling, and dynamic content updates.
How do digital menus enhance the customer experience?
Digital menus create a sleek, modern shopping environment that helps customers make faster purchasing decisions increasing basket size at checkout. With engaging visuals, educational content, and real-time promotions, they improve navigation, reduce wait times, and contribute to a more seamless and enjoyable shopping experience.
Conclusion
Digital menus offer dispensaries a modern, efficient, and cost-effective way to engage customers and drive sales. With real-time updates, enhanced customer experiences, and seamless POS integration, they eliminate the frustration of out-of-stock items while creating a dynamic shopping environment. While traditional print menus provide familiarity and serve as a backup, they come with recurring costs and operational inefficiencies. For dispensaries looking to maximize sales, streamline operations, and stay ahead of the competition, investing in digital signage is a game-changer.
Ready to see how Budvue can transform your dispensary? Book a demo today and discover how our digital menu solutions can help you boost sales and streamline operations.