Akerna Launches 'Akerna Connect' – New eCommerce Software Enabling Cannabis Dispensaries To Digitally Reach Customers

Cannabis software company Akerna KERN announced its new offering on Wednesday - Akerna Connect. The new eCommerce software provides a suite of digital marketing tools to retailers and dispensaries enabling locations to reach their consumers and enhance their shopping experience through online ordering, loyalty programs and text messaging.

Through Akerna Connect, dispensaries can reach consumers digitally when they are not in store. The platform allows the dispensary to design custom campaigns with interactive content and personalized messaging to attract customers back into the store, drive traffic to their online menu and further engage their target audiences.

How Does It Work?

If a consumer is shopping at a dispensary that runs Akerna Connect, they can order their cannabis products online via the retailer's website, which will display the dispensaries branding while running Akerna Connect on the backend. In addition, consumers can opt-in for loyalty programs and text message alerts.

"Our latest addition to the Akerna ecosystem, Akerna Connect, allows cannabis retailers and dispensaries to reach their customers when not in store through text messaging, loyalty programs, and eCommerce options. In an increasingly digital world, these tactics will help dispensaries increase awareness, foot traffic, and sales for their locations,” Jessica Billingsley, Akerna CEO told Benzinga. “This is our most recent product built to support the cannabis industry’s modernization and success.”

Over a dozen cannabis businesses are successfully running the software, which was built to serve the industry's unique regulatory and compliance needs.

"The tools that Akerna Connect provides our dispensary are game-changing. Akerna Connect is a central component of our marketing strategy that drives our foot traffic daily,” added Natalia Rivera, president of Emerald Cannabis Wellness Center. 

The Price Action

Akerna’s shares were trading 1.25% lower at $3.16 per share at the time of writing Wednesday mid-morning.

Photo: Courtesy of Akerna