Cannabis retailers have made significant investments in marketing automation over the past several years. Loyalty programs are mature. Segmentation is more sophisticated. Event-based campaigns are becoming the norm.
With AIQ Flows, retailers can now trigger journeys based on real behavioral signals, point balances, tier progression, visit gaps, redemption activity, and more. Messaging is no longer calendar-based. It is responsive.
But automation alone does not complete the journey. Once shoppers reach the menu, intent still needs support. This is where Terpli, AIQ’s AI Sales Agent, operates, as a sales enablement layer inside the menu, guiding decision-making at the moment it matters most.
Most retailers still treat marketing automation and ecommerce as separate systems.
Intent is created in the message.
Outcome is determined in the menu.
And too often, the connection between the two breaks down.
Lifecycle automation works. A reminder about expiring points or a reward unlocked drives the click. That click represents intent.
But intent is fragile. Once a shopper lands on the menu, momentum often stalls. Most ecommerce menus are designed to display inventory, not guide decisions. Filters assume product knowledge. Featured sections prioritize margin. Sorting tools assume certainty.
Most shoppers are not certain.
They know how they want to feel. They do not know which SKU delivers it.
In a high-choice category like cannabis, hesitation compounds quickly. The industry measures what happens before the menu and after checkout. Very little supports what happens during the decision itself, where confidence is either built or lost.
When interest is present but clarity is not, shoppers need structure.
A sales enablement layer inside the menu, like Terpli, AIQ’s AI Sales Agent, introduces guided decision support at the moment of intent. Not to replace retail teams, but to extend their expertise digitally.
By translating desired outcomes into relevant product paths and narrowing options based on use case, the focus shifts from pushing SKUs to creating alignment. Alignment builds confidence. Confidence drives repeat behavior.
Automation may create intent. But guidance inside the menu is what turns that intent into action.
When AIQ Flows and Terpli operate together, the journey becomes connected.
Flows drives intent through behavioral triggers. Terpli translates intent into clarity. But the real opportunity lies in what happens next.
Terpli generates insight into how shoppers navigate decisions, which categories they explore, where hesitation occurs, what signals indicate confidence. This is decision data. When that insight feeds back into lifecycle segmentation, messaging becomes more adaptive.
Instead of segmenting only on past purchases, retailers can segment on consideration behavior.
These signals allow future Flows journeys to reflect not just what was bought, but how decisions were made.
That is the foundation of a closed-loop system.
Retention in cannabis retail is built on confidence. Shoppers return to environments where they feel understood. Discounts can drive urgency. Automation can drive frequency.
But trust drives loyalty.
Trust is built when:
When automation and decision support operate in isolation, retailers optimize pieces of the journey. When they operate as a closed loop, retailers optimize outcomes.
The industry has matured beyond calendar campaigns.
Now it must mature beyond disconnected systems.
Marketing automation and ecommerce cannot operate independently if the goal is sustainable growth.
AIQ Flows provides the orchestration layer. Terpli provides the decision layer.
Together, they create infrastructure that connects:
Message → Match → Memory → Repeat Behavior.
That is how intent becomes trust.And how trust becomes long-term value.
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