Self-Checkout Solution Makes Landmark Launch at Colorado Dispensaries 

 

 

Cannabis retail innovators at anna announced today the launch of their fast, efficient and highly-compliant self-checkout solution for Colorado dispensaries. 

 

anna’s technology is created to uphold the expectations of consumers and retailers while modernizing the cannabis purchasing experience. Designed to meet specific industry needs, the hardware is akin to the self-checkout section at a local grocer, but with several high-tech benefits, including anna’s integration with existing retailer technologies, contactless payment and dispensing, and streamlined transactions through the anna.app. 

 

Customers can browse in-store using anna’s touchscreen interface or utilize online ordering by scanning their QR code upon arrival, keeping the checkout process to under a minute. This allows dispensaries and CBD retailers to service customers while adhering to today’s social distancing guidelines. 

 

“The retail technology available to dispensaries has inhibited the cannabis industry’s path to normalization. In many traditional retail industries, self-checkout transactions are standard,” said Matt Frost, Founder and CEO of anna. “With anna, our stakeholders will see very quickly that prioritizing retail efficiency improves store traffic, and allows associates to spend additional time with more inexperienced customers. anna epitomizes ‘Cannabis Retail for Now’.” 

A typical anna setup involves three to four units placed on the dispensary or retail sales floor, creating a subnetwork within anna’s larger cloud architecture. The interior can be configured to accommodate products of all sizes, and its capacity exceeds 2,000 products in a footprint just under 8 square feet. 

With each device serving as its own point-of-sale register, an assigned cashier or associate—the anna.agent—is responsible for authorizing sales and live monitoring transactions through a secure tablet connected to anna’s network, all while prioritizing compliance. 

 

anna’s proprietary rules engine, modeled after advanced health and life science analytics engines, is able to distribute THC and CBD products in a compliant manner, in licensed retail environments across the globe. anna incorporates fulfillment rules, regulations and compliance standards down to the most granular level of local jurisdictions and municipalities. 

 

anna will launch at two Colorado dispensaries beginning the week of August 10, 2020; Strawberry Fields in Pueblo (4116 Nature Center Road), and Starbuds in Southeast Aurora (14655 E. Arapahoe Road). Each store will feature units that are custom branded, another service offered to partners. 

Planned rollouts with anna’s dispensary partners extend through the year and into 2021—including a September 2020 launch in Massachusetts, as well as an expanded Colorado presence. By 2021, anna is focused on bringing the company’s self-checkout solution to cannabis markets in Nevada, California and Canada. 

 

  • CannaAid and Peak: Something new for everyone.

Recent Articles

Boost profits with these holiday cannabis sales strategies to build Q1 momentum through promotions, gift cards, bundling, and future-focused planning.
Learn how to create a holiday cannabis retail experience with sensory design, festive displays, gift bundles, and events that boost sales and traffic.
Discover 12 cannabis stocking stuffers and upsell ideas in this cannabis holiday gift guide to boost sales and delight last-minute shoppers.
Discover how Southern Hemp LA creates clean cannabis products with simple ingredients, strict standards, and Cajun charm in Louisiana.
Get ready for the holiday rush with this cannabis holiday retail guide, including tips on staffing, inventory, customer service, and burnout prevention.
Tina Ulman is reshaping cannabis policy and expanding access, from changing Nevada laws to launching brands that bring new consumers to the plant.
As a lifelong stoner, feminist, and teacher, Luna Stower does know how intersectional plant medicine can be.
“Whenever somebody sees ‘Sales Guru’ on my card, they ask how you become one,” he says. “I tell them that you spend your life in sales, and you go to Nepal to climb the Himalayas to meet the real gurus. You get the wisdom from them, then you bring it back down and apply it to your life.”