Online ordering is no longer the side door to your dispensary. It's a main entrance.
Flowhub data shows online customers buy more than walk-in shoppers, with 44% larger baskets and 35% higher average order values.
For most operators, the question is no longer whether to sell online. It's how to build the right ecommerce experience.
Flowhub gives dispensaries two ecommerce options:
- Native Ecommerce: a turnkey online storefront
- Open Ecommerce: a headless solution for building custom experiences
Both run on the same Flowhub commerce platform infrastructure. Inventory, pricing, deals, compliance, and order management stay connected to your POS. The difference is how much control you want over the customer-facing experience.
This guide explains the difference between native and headless ecommerce so you can choose the right approach for your dispensary today and tomorrow.
Native vs. Open Ecommerce at a glance
Here's a quick breakdown of the differences between Flowhub's ecommerce solutions:
Flowhub Native Ecommerce offers a fast, turnkey path for dispensaries that want to launch without development resources.
Open Ecommerce uses a headless architecture, giving operators and agency partners the freedom to build fully custom websites, mobile apps, and shopping experiences.
The storefronts are different, but the commerce platform underneath is the same.
That means every order benefits from:
- Real-time Inventory sync. What sells in-store updates online, and what sells online updates your counts. No double entry, no manual menu edits at close.
- Shared pricing, discounts, and promotions. The price profiles, discounts, and promotions you build in Flowhub apply to online orders the same way they apply at the register.
- Built-in compliance. Purchase limits, eligibility checks, and state reporting through Metrc or BioTrack happen inside the same workflows you already trust. Online orders land in the same fulfillment queue as your pickup, kiosk, and delivery orders.
- Integrated order management. Orders placed online move through the same Order Ahead and checkout process your staff already knows in Flowhub POS.
Whether you choose Native Ecommerce or Open Ecommerce, Flowhub remains the commerce platform powering your online ordering experience.
Native Ecommerce: Flowhub's turnkey ecommerce option
Native Ecommerce is Flowhub’s built-in online storefront. It connects directly to your POS, so the products, prices, and availability customers see reflect the inventory you already manage.
There is no separate ecommerce platform to configure, no developer to hire, and no custom front end to maintain. You can brand the experience, connect it to your dispensary, and begin accepting online orders quickly.
Best for:
- Single-location dispensaries and small chains that want to be live quickly
- Operators without in-house developers or agency support
- Teams that prioritize speed, simplicity, and reliability
- Retailers that want ecommerce without adding a technical project
What you get:
- A fast launch, often measured in days rather than months
- A menu that stays in sync with your Flowhub inventory automatically
- Conversion patterns already tuned for cannabis retail
- Loyalty and deals that carry over from your existing setup
- Zero engineering lift, so your team can focus on running the store
What you trade:
You work within a standardized design. You can make it yours with your logo, branding, and product selection, but you are not rebuilding the layout or the checkout experience from scratch. There are guardrails on customization. For most operators, that is exactly the point. The design decisions are made for you, and they are made well, so you can spend your energy on inventory, staffing, and sales instead of on web development.
Native Ecommerce is a deliberate choice for a real and large segment of operators. It is not a starter tier you are expected to outgrow. Many successful operators choose Native Ecommerce because it does the job well and requires minimal upkeep.
Open Ecommerce: Flowhub's headless ecommerce option
Open Ecommerce is Flowhub’s headless ecommerce solution for dispensaries that want complete control over the customer experience.
In a headless ecommerce model, the customer-facing storefront is separated from the commerce platform powering it. Developers can design the website, app, navigation, product discovery, and checkout experience while Flowhub continues to manage inventory, pricing, deals, compliance, and order workflows behind the scenes.
With Flowhub Open Ecommerce, developers can use APIs to build:
- Custom dispensary websites
- Mobile shopping apps
- Unique product-discovery experiences
- Multi-brand or multi-location storefronts
- Custom loyalty, content, and checkout flows
Best for:
- Brand-driven operators that want a distinctive online presence
- Multi-location or multi-brand dispensary groups
- Retailers with specific customer experience requirements
- Teams with an in-house developer or agency partner
- Operators prepared to invest in a custom digital product
What you get:
- Full control over design, navigation, and user experience
- Flowhub’s inventory, compliance, and order infrastructure underneath
- The ability to stand out in a market where a lot of dispensary menus look the same
- Room to build features and flows that match how your customers actually shop
What you trade:
Headless ecommerce requires development resources.
A custom storefront takes longer to build than a turnkey solution and needs ongoing maintenance. Someone must continue improving the experience, responding to browser and device changes, fixing issues, and developing new features.
That ongoing investment is the cost of flexibility. For operators with a strong vision and the right resources, it can create a meaningful competitive advantage. For others, it may add more complexity than the business needs.
How to choose between Native and Open Ecommerce
Not sure which side you land on? Run through these six questions. There are no wrong answers, only a clearer picture of where your dispensary is right now. Lean A or lean B on each, then see where you end up.
- Do you have, or plan to hire, a development partner or agency?
A. No, and we would rather not.
B. Yes, we have one or we are ready to bring one on. - How much does your online experience need to stand out from other dispensaries?
A. A clean, reliable store that reflects our brand is plenty.
B. Standing out online is core to how we compete. - What is your timeline to launch?
A. We want to be selling online soon.
B. We can invest more time to build the right experience. - How many locations or brands are you running under one roof?
A. One store, or a small group with a shared look.
B. Multiple brands or storefronts that each need their own identity. - Do you have specific customer experience features in mind that go beyond a standard menu?
A. Not really. A strong menu and easy checkout cover it.
B. Yes, we have ideas that need custom design to pull off. - What is your appetite for ongoing front-end investment?
A. Low. We want it to run without much upkeep.
B. High. We are ready to invest in the storefront over time.
Mostly A's? Buying Native Ecommerce is likely your fit. You get online ordering that works, fast, without adding a technical project to your team's workload.
Mostly B's? Building on Open Ecommerce is worth a serious look. You have the vision and the resources to build a storefront that is truly yours, with Flowhub keeping the commerce and compliance running underneath.
A real mix? That is common, and it is a good conversation to have with our team. Many operators start on Native and move to Open later, which brings us to the next point.
What if I want to switch later?
One of the biggest advantages of Flowhub is flexibility.
Because Native Ecommerce and Headless Ecommerce share the same commerce engine, switching between them doesn't require migrating your inventory, customer data, pricing, or compliance workflows.
You're changing the storefront, not replacing the platform.
That means you can launch quickly with Native Ecommerce today and move to a fully custom experience later without starting over.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Open Ecommerce the same as headless commerce?
Yes. Headless commerce means separating the storefront your customer sees from the commerce engine running behind it. With Open Ecommerce, Flowhub is that engine and you build the storefront on top through an open API.
If I choose Open Ecommerce, do I give up Flowhub's compliance and inventory features?
No. Both paths run on the same Flowhub backbone. Inventory sync, pricing, deals, purchase limits, and state reporting through Metrc or BioTrack work the same way no matter which storefront sits on top.
Do I need a developer to use Open Ecommerce?
Yes. Open Ecommerce is built for operators who have an in-house developer or an agency partner. If you do not have development resources, Native Ecommerce gives you a working online store without any engineering lift.
Which one is better, Native or Open?
Neither is better across the board. They are built for different needs. Native is the faster, lower-maintenance path, and Open gives you full control of the design if you have the resources to build and maintain it. The right choice depends on where your dispensary is today.
Not sure which is right for you?
Both paths are Flowhub. The engine, the compliance, and the operations are the same. The question is how much control you want over what your customer sees, and there is a right answer for where your dispensary is today.
If you are still weighing it, talk with our team. We will look at your goals, your resources, and your brand plans, and help you land on the right fit.
