Cannabis Retailers on Their First Look at BudSense

BudSense isn’t just built by the product team, it’s built from the conversations we have with retailers every day.

On the front lines of those conversations is Ethan, who leads sales at BudSense. He’s usually the first point of contact when a retailer checks us out, and that means he sees the real first reactions: the excitement, the skepticism, the wow moments, and the questions that come up before someone makes the leap.

In this Q&A, we asked Ethan to share what he hears most often in demos and sales calls:

• Which features grab attention right away

• What the “wow moment” looks like depending on the retailer

• Why trust is always the biggest concern in cannabis tech

• And how BudSense’s print menus keep blowing people away

If you’ve ever wondered what makes BudSense stand out from the competition, not in our words, but in the words of the retailers we meet, Ethan’s answers pull back the curtain on how the sales process really plays out.

When retailers see BudSense for the first time, what features usually stand out the most?

Customization and live updates. Retailers are impressed with how much control they actually have over their menus. The back-end dashboard is another big one, it’s far more intuitive and powerful than anything else on the market. Other providers focus on media deployment, but our menu builder is the most user-friendly system retailers have seen.

How do retailers typically react when they realize how much deeper BudSense goes compared to other menu systems?

First, they’re surprised, like, “wow, this actually exists.” And I let them know that yes, we are one of the lesser known providers and we focus on building instead of marketing. And then they usually get intrigued, thinking about how they can use it in their own workflows. And once they see how much impact it can have, that surprise and intrigue quickly turn into excitement.

What’s the “wow moment” in a demo that makes them see BudSense differently?

It depends on where they’re coming from. If they’ve used Budvue or Divvy, the “wow” is the dashboard, they’ve never had that kind of control before. If they’re coming from Seed, it’s usually our ability to showcase cannabinoids and terpenes. And if they’re looking at print? The wow moment is immediate, no one else does print like us. Print cards especially blow people away, since it’s something they’ve never been offered before.

What are the biggest concerns retailers bring up before committing to BudSense?

Trust. A lot of operators have been burned by cannabis tech before.  Outages, poor support, companies that vanish when things go wrong. Even those who haven’t had that experience still worry about support. They need to know that if something comes up, someone is there to help right away.

How do you show retailers that BudSense support is different?

I make it clear from the start that our support chat is always available, no matter how small the question. We’re real people behind the platform and not just bot bots or scripts. I share examples of customers reaching out just to check in, or flag something small, and always getting a response. That level of accessibility builds trust quickly.

For smaller operators, what hesitations do they have about adopting BudSense?

Smaller operators sometimes don’t realize how powerful a menu system can be. They think a bare-bones option is “good enough.” But once they see how BudSense supports merchandising and creates a better customer experience, the hesitation usually disappears.

Which markets have been most impressed with BudSense lately?

Newer markets like New York are always excited because they want best-in-class tools from day one. But I’ve also seen a shift in mature markets like California. Retailers there have been burned before, but now they’re open to change again and when they see how consistently ahead of the curve BudSense is, they’re impressed.

How do retailers respond to BudSense’s print menus and customization?

They love it. We can replicate what they already use, customize it even further, and automate the updates. That means if they sell out in the morning or get a shipment midday, they can regenerate a print menu instantly without creating extra work for staff. Having a fresh, accurate menu ready every morning is a game-changer.

Why do most other providers overlook print menus?

Many providers are more traditional tech companies that are looking to build what will be impressive for investors. Their value structure prevents them from being able to get inside of cannabis retail and really find pain points that are hurting dispensaries ability to thrive. Print is one of those things. From a tech perspective it feels outdated. But it’s a powerful and arguably the most flexible menu you can have right now. It gives dispensaries menus they can customize, trust, and it just works.

Can you give an example where print customization made a noticeable difference?

Definitely. One big example is with our customizable columns, things like terpenes or additional cannabinoids. Before BudSense, retailers avoided adding details like that because it meant hours of manual updates in spreadsheets. Now they can include more product info without extra work, which not only saves time but also helps customers make better decisions in-store.

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