HelloMary And The New Cannabis Friendly App Store
Apple has continued to revise its policy about cannabis-related apps on the platform. HelloMary will make another welcome addition.
On June 7, Apple changed its App store policy to allow apps connected to either legally registered cannabis dispensaries or pharmacies to finally have a home on the platform. A month later, Apple approved the first cannabis delivery app — Eaze — a delivery service with over 2 million registered customers in California.
This is a major milestone for the cannabis market and its consumers, even though there are still some restrictions on what can be listed. The App Store requires that apps which provide services in fields that are regulated, like banking, healthcare and cannabis directly, must provide services through a legal entity that provides such services — not merely the app’s developer. Beyond this, the apps that facilitate cannabis sales are geo restricted to only allow the services to work in states where cannabis sales are legal.
Fast forward to fall 2021, however, and consumers can now buy cannabis directly through their iPhones.
The Impact of Apple’s New Cannabis Friendly Policies
The App Store, which launched in 2008, is currently home to over 2 million apps and is visited by half a billion people a week in 175 countries. Traffic has also doubled in just three years.
This huge universe is now beginning to open its doors to the cannabis industry. This means that an application that brings together not only delivery services but a customer journey based on underlying information about strains will be able to have national reach, for the first time.
Why The App Store Is a Unique Home For HelloMary
HelloMary, which incorporates all aspects of the customer journey, can be downloaded and customized not only for state sales, but a national launch of a brand with production capability in different states.
What it will mean, just in California, is that for the first time, any iPhone user who wants to download the app on their iPhone will have instant access to a voice-assisted AI system to guide them easily to the best strain of cannabis for their particular need, where to buy it, and further, how to have it delivered to their door.
The Normalization of Cannabis Into Commonly Used Tech
While it is hard to remember anymore, the idea of being able to search online for a dispensary seemed revolutionary just 13 years ago. Today, with the integration of cannabis related apps into such widely used platforms, it is clear that the stigma around cannabis use — and for either medical or recreational use — is well on its way to receeding into the pages of history.
HelloMary intends to help make some of that history — and further in a way that streamlines and educates cannabis users while creating a unique marketplace for innovative brands.
