What does your product mix actually say about your dispensary's health?

In this episode of Cannabis Marketing Life, Jake sits down with Kris Walker, co-founder of Hoodie Analytics, to talk about what 6 years of cannabis retail data actually reveals — and what most operators are still getting wrong.

Kris brings a rare perspective: nearly 20 years at Nielsen, a CPG background, and a front-row seat to how cannabis retail has matured (and where it's still stuck). The conversation goes deep on trade area data, product mix decisions, and why chasing discount-driven revenue might be quietly killing your margins.

In this episode:

• How Hoodie Analytics went from professional services to working with 16 of the top 20 cannabis brands in the country
• Why beverages don't sell online but fly off shelves in bodega-style stores
• The discount death spiral — and why 90% of marketing spend goes to your least profitable customers
• Distribution, ACV, and the difference between a brand that sells because of salespeople vs. one consumers actually want
• AI buyer and seller agents: what Hoodie is building (and why hallucinations are still a real problem)
• Trade area analysis and how to use competitor data to make smarter shelf decisions
• Brand vs. retailer co-marketing: where the opportunity is, and why it's been slow to happen

Connect with Kris Walker: chris@hoodieanalytics.com | hoodieanalytics.com

Free cannabis marketing courses: mediajel.com/academy

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Why your best retention tool isn't your loyalty program — it's what happens between purchase one and purchase two

In ten years of working with dispensaries, Steph Vrona has seen the same gap show up almost every time.

It's not the loyalty program. It's not the email list. It's not even the promotions.

It's what happens in the 48 hours after a customer's first visit, and most operators have no visibility into what that experience actually looks like, or whether it's working at all.

Here's what the data tells us: only 16% of first-time dispensary customers continue shopping at the same store after their initial visit. Medium

Not 45%. Not 60%. Sixteen percent.

That means for every 100 new customers who walked through your door this month, 84 of them are already gone, and most dispensaries have no system in place to know why or what to do about it.

This webinar is about fixing that. Not with a bigger ad budget. Not with deeper discounts. With a clear-eyed audit of what's actually happening inside your customer journey and a practical framework for closing the gaps.

Last month, we talked about the 420 spike. This month is about the system.

If you attended our 420 retention webinar, you heard the macro case: why post-event traffic doesn't convert to repeat revenue, and what the best operators do differently in the 30 days after a major sales moment.

This session goes one level deeper. It's the operational layer, the one that determines whether any retention strategy, loyalty program, or marketing effort you run actually sticks.

Because here's what most retention content misses: 88% of cannabis shoppers say budtenders shape their purchase decisions, and 85% say they'd return for knowledgeable staff. Sweedpos

The biggest retention lever in your business isn't in your CRM. It's on your floor. And most dispensaries have never audited it.

The audit most operators have never run.

Steph will walk us through:

• The 5-point post-purchase audit you need to run on your store this week
• A map of the most common customer journey breakdowns, and the fix for each one
• How to segment your existing customer base into retention priority tiers using data you already have
• The specific communication cadence that moves a first-time buyer toward a second visit — without discounting

If you've never formally audited your customer journey, this session will show you what you've been missing. If you have, Steph will show you where most audits stop short and what the next layer looks like.

Want more great cannabis marketing tips?!

Join thousands of others and gain access to exclusive cannabis marketing content, timely regulatory news, and advertising support: www.mediajel.com/cannabis-business-resource/

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The European cannabis market is moving, but is it ready for you? In this episode of Cannabis Marketing Live, host Jake Litke (CEO of MediaJel) sits down with Jill Agnello, founder of JA Global Consulting, to break down what's actually happening across European and global cannabis markets right now.

Jill has spent the last four years embedded in the international cannabis trade show circuit, from ICBC Berlin to Spannabis in Bilbao, and launched her own consultancy after leading international strategy at True Terpenes. She brings a grounded, boots-on-the-ground perspective on where the real opportunities are, and more importantly, where U.S. companies keep going wrong.

In this episode:

• Germany's "full rec" reality and why it's nothing like California or New York
• Why there's no consumer brand market in Europe yet (and when that might change)
• The novel foods framework blocking CBD edibles and beverages across the EU
• Which markets are most viable right now for non-plant-touching businesses
• What South Africa, Thailand, Australia, Japan, and Latin America look like
• The three biggest mistakes companies make when entering international markets
• Why "intelligence before infrastructure" is the only smart entry strategy
• How U.S. political tensions are (and aren't) affecting business conversations abroad

If you're a cannabis, hemp, or CBD company weighing international expansion, this is the reality check you need before you book a flight.

Want more great cannabis marketing tips?!

Join thousands of others and gain access to exclusive cannabis marketing content, timely regulatory news, and advertising support: www.mediajel.com/cannabis-business-resource/

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Follow us on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/mediajel/

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Let's strategize about your business: www.mediajel.com/contact-us/