Photo by Michal Wozniak on Unsplash
There’s a rapid growth in the market of cannabidiol (CBD) products, including its other related industries, like CBD coffee shops, massage spas, and pharmaceutical products. With only the American market, CBD sales can potentially reach $20 billion with a 147% compound annual growth rate by 2020, as reported by the Brightfield Group.
This widespread can be traced back to the loosening constraints regarding CBD. Its improving positive public perception also prompted its eCommerce market demand. Consequently, many investors and business owners are now planning to make a profit from CBD online stores.
You’ve come to the right place if you are likewise planning to do so. If you are still a novice in the business field, here are seven helpful points that you should remember before starting your online CBD store.
CBD-related Laws
Every business owner, reseller, and buyer should know where CBD products are considered legal. Operating your business in a state where CBD is allowed doesn’t mean you can freely transport CBD products anywhere. Running an online CBD business requires you not to be ignorant of the state-by-state laws.
There are other legal guidelines that you should keep in mind, as well. All of your CBD products should be within the THC limit of 0.3% and shouldn’t exceed this legal limit, for example. Further, the CBD-related laws are still continually improving, so make sure that your CBD online store is adaptive in handling varying regulations.
Reputable CBD Supplier
Unless you’re cultivating your own hemp farm, there’s a need to source for the supplier of your CBD products. In the past, American merchants have been importing hemp parts from Europe, the continent where many farmers have been growing hemp plants for years. But since the implementation of the 2018 Farm Bill in the US, national sources are expected to rise nowadays.
Whether you’ll get a supplier locally or abroad, you want to make sure that a distributor has the Certificate of Analysis (COA) and has abided by the Current Goods Manufacturing Practice (cGMP). As a business owner, you need to vet the quality of products you’re reselling or reproducing and be assured that your business partner is running a legal business.
Shipping Services and Carriers
The distribution and logistics of your CBD products play a significant role in your business. Take Discount Pharms as an example. This online CBD store has a great list of distribution and transportation services that you can safely choose from, including custom deliveries for products that require special attention.
In the US and Europe, you wouldn’t face a lot of impediments or restrictions on shipping CBD products. However, you have to keep tabs on specific requirements and advisory notes from FedEx, UPS, DHL, and other hemp transportation services, including the government’s postal services.
Typically, shipping CBD products across cities and countries require you to obtain your country’s shipping clearance and the clearance from a recipient’s country. Otherwise, your product will be returned to your store, or worse you might be accused of illegal activity.
Banking and Payment Processing
CBD-related online business is still pioneering and immature. There’s no wonder why there are still numerous merchant account providers, insurance companies, and payment processors that consider CBD-focused cryptocurrency as ‘with high-risks.’ If you’re having a hard time doing business with them, that’s normal. You don’t have to fret about it.
Fortunately, there are other payment gateways, such as the Payment Cloud and Authorize.Net, that tend to specialize in lending a hand to high-risk merchants. During your business proposals with your chosen provider, ensure that your eCommerce platform can process payments, and accept credit cards. Your online store is pointless if you don’t have these features.
Marketing
Building brand awareness and beating competition are easy, thanks to the online marketing bandwagon. Unfortunately, it’s the other way around with CBD. Facebook and Google Ads don’t advertise cannabis-related products. Meaning, you can’t leverage today’s most influential social media platforms as other retailers can.
Apart from SEO and emails, there are still other ways to market your products. There are digital magazines that focus on CBD, too, such as Cannabis Culture Magazine and Marijuana Business Daily. Plus, trade shows like CannaCon and CBD Expo are great events to start your brand reputation. Vying for social media influencers’ support and celebrities’ plugs (if you hit the jackpot) would definitely make a contribution in marketing your products, as well.
Takeaway
The web development of your online store is already given, so we didn’t include it in the list. Making an online store is not a big problem nowadays. You don’t even have to personally hire a professional (and expensive) web developer because many affordable companies can do the making of your online store for you.
Just remember that your online store is the face of your business and a powerful tool that attracts consumers. A user-friendly and aesthetically pleasing website, which offers a number of capabilities and features, would surely drive your business’ revenue.
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