CBD-based wellness products are everywhere in the market today. These products are available in different forms like oils, sprays, lotions, pills, balms, and vapes. CBD-based products contain a significant amount of CBD or Cannabidiol present in the Cannabis plant. Scientists have acquired around 108 cannabinoids in the Cannabis plant. CBD or Cannabidiol is rapidly becoming one of the most sought-after compounds because of its medicinal and therapeutic properties.
Drugstores, online retailers, and supplement retailers are the three major distributors of CBD at present. The Farm bill 2018 federally legalized the production of industrial hemp products across the US. According to a new Gallup poll, every one in seven Americans is a CBD consumer.
So, what is CBD?
According to the US National Library on Medicine, CBD, short for Cannabinoids, is a chemical compound obtained from the Cannabis Sativa plant or marijuana. It is present in oils, edibles, and the best CBD oil gummies and transmits a relaxing and calm feeling. CBD’s cousin, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), is a psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. However, CBD is not psychoactive.
The Cannabis Sativa has two primary species, marijuana, and hemp. Although both contain CBD and THC, hemp has a higher CBD and a lesser THC concentration than marijuana. Epidiolex is the only CBD meditation that is FDA approved available on the market to treat epilepsy.
Choosing the Best eCommerce Platform for Selling CBD products
Choosing the best eCommerce platform for selling CBD is a difficult task.
- First, there are many online stores to choose from, and determining the right CBD platform for your business could get a little tiresome.
- Secondly, most of the platforms are not cannabis-friendly.
- Thirdly, there could be inconveniences in the CBD payments because most platforms select a third-party CBD payment processor.
As such, there are two primary options available out there. They are:
- Self-hosted and
- SaaS
Self-hosted Content Management System (CMS) with eCommerce plug-in
WordPress is one of the most popular website tools for businesses out there. It is also a great platform to start an eCommerce site business or to sell CBD products online. WordPress has endless software plug-ins that can solve all kinds of CBD eCommerce and other marketing needs. WordPress is also highly customizable.
But on the downside, it isn’t an ideal eCommerce solution to your CBD business because it requires another plug-in. One such plug-in that works best with WordPress is WooCommerce. It is used to sell CBD oil and other cannabis-derived products. WooCommerce is a compelling eCommerce platform; however, it has a disadvantage in its limited customer support. Furthermore, while setting up your business on WordPress, one will repeatedly need experienced web designers and developers to decorate and customize the eCommerce. Therefore, WordPress with WooCommerce will not be ideal for beginners. In addition, there will be different CBD website hosting and a secure SSL certificate when using WordPress + WooCommerce.
Other websites like Wix and SquareSpace work great for beginners and non-coders, but they don’t sell CBD. As such, a self-hosted CBD business is not the best option for selling CBD on an eCommerce platform.
SaaS or Hosted eCommerce Platforms
The other primary option for selling CBD through eCommerce platforms is SaaS (Software as Service) or other eCommerce hosting platforms. The two most popular SaaS platforms for selling CBD are Shopify and BigCommerce.
● Shopify:
Since September 17, 2019, the option for selling hemp and hemp-derived CBD were available in Shopify in locations permissible by law. Shopify has better and unique design options, security features, and customization flexibility compared to BigCommerce. However, payment is a significant crisis when it comes to selling CBD products on Shopify. Shopify uses Stripe to process payments, but Stripe does not allow CBD sales as of yet. Therefore, the customer has to select and apply for a third-party CBD payment gateway. However, Shopify does work for a safe and secure transaction.
● BigCommerce:
BigCommerce provides almost all the powerful tools and software requirements for running any e-commerce business. BigCommerce focuses not only on e-commerce alone but also on branding and marketing along with it. It is user-friendly and suitable for beginners and less technically skilled to create, customize, and optimize their e-commerce site according to their wishes.
Both Shopify and BigCommerce platforms have free trials for the customers to try out before making a big commitment. The prices for the plans are somewhat the same, but Shopify offers a cheaper basic plan. The most significant disadvantage of choosing an eCommerce platform is that you don’t own your website. Instead, you pay a monthly fee or allowance to host your platform, maintain, support, and keep it secured.
Conclusion
These CBD-based products are widely used by a vast percentage of people in countries where they are legalized. Be it oils, lotions, vape, or the plant strain itself, getting into a CBD-based business seems to be the most beneficial thing right now! On a concluding note, one can say that the self-hosting platform for selling CBD will work best for experts and developers. However, for a new start-up for selling CBD, SaaS will be beneficial.
