The results
For each website we answered three questions. Can a customer sign up for texts? Can they sign up for email? Is there a loyalty program? Each answer is yes, no, or unsure. Unsure means we found a sign-up but couldn't see what it asks for, usually because the page was blocked or wouldn't load for us.
| What we looked for | Yes | No | Unsure |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loyalty program | 52 | 35 | 9 |
| Email sign-up | 56 | 35 | 5 |
| Text sign-up | 40 | 50 | 6 |
| All three | 35 of 96 (36%) | ||
| None of the three | 23 of 96 (24%) | ||
About one in 3 had the full set, usually because a single loyalty sign-up form asked for both a phone number and an email. About one in 4 had nothing at all. The other 38 had some of the three but not all.
Text sign-ups: 42% ask for a phone number
40 of the 96 websites had a form that asks for a mobile number. Almost every one was a phone field on a loyalty or newsletter sign-up form, often with the texting consent wording underneath. 31 of those 40 shops run their sign-ups through Alpine IQ.
50 websites showed no way to give a phone number, and we couldn't see the form on 6 more. Texting is the channel with the most rules for dispensaries, because the mobile carriers filter cannabis content. That may be part of why fewer shops collect phone numbers than emails. Our dispensary text marketing guide covers the carrier rules and consent.
Email sign-ups: 58% have one
56 of the 96 websites had a place to enter an email address, most often a newsletter box in the footer or a field on the loyalty form. 35 had none and 5 were unsure.
Email has fewer gatekeepers than texting, since no mobile carrier sits in the middle, so it's the easiest channel to start. Our dispensary email marketing guide covers which platforms allow cannabis and what the law requires.
Loyalty programs: 54% show one
We counted a loyalty program only when the site showed a rewards page, a points system or a way to join. A passing mention of "rewards" didn't count; those 9 shops are marked unsure.
52 of the 96 websites showed a program. But 6 of them had no way to sign up for texts or email anywhere on the site. Those shops have a loyalty program customers can hear about online but can only join at the counter.
Which tools dispensaries use
Alpine IQ was the most common sign-up tool by a wide margin. Its forms or code appeared on 32 of the 96 websites, against 6 for every other loyalty or texting platform we spotted combined, including Springbig and Dutchie's loyalty tool. Many of the remaining shops used their own website form or showed no sign-up tool at all.
We should say plainly that we're an Alpine IQ certified agency, so we aren't neutral about the platform. The count comes straight from the sign-up forms and page code on each site.
Three fixes for your dispensary
These are the gaps we saw most often, in order of how easy they are to fix.
- Put a sign-up form where people can see it. The shops with the full set usually had one form, on the homepage or one click away, that asks for a phone number and an email together, with the consent wording underneath. If your only sign-up is buried on a rewards page, move it up.
- Let people join your loyalty program online. If you have a program, link the sign-up from your homepage and menu. A customer browsing your menu at home is the easiest one to sign up, and right now some shops make them wait until they're at the counter.
- Open your own sign-up page on your phone. Several of the sign-up pages we tried were blocked by bot protection, stayed blank or sent us somewhere broken. A customer's phone may get through where our check didn't, but it takes one minute to find out, and a broken form collects nobody.
Want to know where your shop stands? The free audit checks exactly these things on your website, menu and social profiles and sends you a written report.
How we did the study
Which shops. We drew 96 websites from our own working list of independent dispensaries in legal states, covering Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island and Vermont. Chains with five or more locations were left out, so the results describe independent shops, not the big multi-state operators. That list leans toward shops that post rarely on social media: 82 of the 96 post fewer than 10 times a month on Instagram or not at all. So these numbers may run lower than they would for the industry as a whole.
What we looked at. Each shop's homepage and up to two linked pages, such as a rewards or newsletter page, including sign-up pages hosted by loyalty platforms. We scrolled the full page, got past the age check where we could, and saved screenshots and the page code.
How answers were decided. An automated check made a first guess for each shop. Every final answer was then decided one shop at a time from the saved screenshots and page code, not from the automated guess. A phone or email box counted only if it sat in a real sign-up form. A loyalty program counted only with a rewards page, points or a way to join.
What we didn't do. We didn't type into or submit any form, so we never joined a list. Websites that were down, blocked, parked or belonged to a different business were replaced with the next shop on the list.
What this can't see. Sign-ups that only exist in an app, in store or deep inside a site. A shop marked "no" may still collect numbers at the counter.
When. All checks were made September 27 to October 3, 2026. Websites change, so a shop may look different today.
| State | Websites checked |
|---|---|
| New Jersey | 13 |
| Colorado | 12 |
| Maine | 12 |
| New York | 9 |
| Nevada | 8 |
| Arizona | 7 |
| Vermont | 6 |
| Illinois | 4 |
| Minnesota | 4 |
| Alaska | 3 |
| Montana | 3 |
| New Mexico | 3 |
| Delaware | 2 |
| Massachusetts | 2 |
| Ohio | 2 |
| Rhode Island | 2 |
| Connecticut | 1 |
| Maryland | 1 |
| Oklahoma | 1 |
| Oregon | 1 |
We don't name individual shops. The point is the pattern, not any one business.
Using this data
You're welcome to quote, chart or write about these numbers. Please credit Green Spark Media and link to this page so readers can see how the study was done.
Green Spark Media, "Dispensary Loyalty, Text & Email Sign-Up Statistics: 2026 Study," https://greensparkmedia.com/dispensary-retention-study/Questions about the method? Email matt@greensparkmedia.com.
Questions
What percentage of dispensaries have a loyalty program?
How many dispensaries collect phone numbers for text marketing?
Which loyalty and marketing platform do dispensaries use most?
Does it matter if we sign customers up in store?
Can I use this data?
About the author
Matthew Dobesh founded Green Spark Media. He got his start in cannabis about fifteen years ago in a grow warehouse, harvesting, trimming and packaging product while he was in university. An MBA and a marketing career later, he's back in the industry, this time helping dispensaries grow. He's Alpine IQ certified and runs a live Alpine IQ account every day. Read Matthew's story.