Many dispensaries include images in every text message they send. To customers, it often looks intentional, like a branded flyer or visual promotion. In reality, those images usually exist for a very different reason.
This article explains why dispensaries started using images in text messages, what problems that approach creates, and how modern cannabis texting strategies are moving beyond generic MMS.
Why Dispensaries Started Including Images
Images became common in dispensary texting for one primary reason: deliverability.
SMS messages in regulated industries like cannabis are filtered aggressively by carriers and smartphones. MMS messages, which include an image, historically passed through filters more easily. To improve delivery rates at scale, many platforms began attaching a generic image to every message.
Because cannabis advertising rules prevent sending real flyers, menus, or product imagery, those images are usually just a logo or placeholder graphic. After the first message, the image adds no new information for the customer.
The Real Cost of Sending Images
MMS messages typically cost two to three times more than standard SMS. When a dispensary sends thousands or hundreds of thousands of messages, that cost difference becomes significant.
In many cases, a large percentage of those messages would have delivered successfully as SMS. However, platforms still route every message as MMS and charge accordingly, even when the image provides no real value.
For high-volume dispensaries, this can inflate monthly messaging costs dramatically without improving customer experience.
How Images Disrupt Conversational Texting
One of the biggest downsides of including an image in every message is how it changes the tone of communication.
Text messaging works best when it feels conversational and personal. When every message arrives with the same generic image, texts start to feel like ads instead of conversations.
This also disrupts automation and AI-assisted messaging. Conversational workflows are harder to execute when messages are forced into a broadcast-style format. Customers are less likely to reply, ask questions, or engage naturally.
Why Images Don’t Always Improve Deliverability Anymore
Carrier filtering has evolved. Deliverability today depends less on whether a message is SMS or MMS and more on trust signals, consent, engagement history, and how messages are sent.
Platforms that rely solely on MMS to bypass filters are using an outdated strategy. Modern approaches focus on clearing the delivery path at signup, building engagement over time, and sending messages that customers actually interact with.
When Images Do Make Sense
Images still have a place. Receipts, special announcements, or occasional branded moments can benefit from MMS when used intentionally.
The problem isn’t MMS itself. The problem is using it as a crutch for every message, regardless of cost, relevance, or customer experience.
A Smarter Approach to Dispensary Text Messaging
The most effective dispensaries treat text messaging as a one-to-one channel, not a billboard. They focus on making sure customers receive the first message at checkout, save the number as a contact, and trust future messages.
Once that trust is established, SMS becomes a powerful, cost-effective communication channel. Images become optional, not mandatory.
Modern dispensary texting isn’t about sending more graphics. It’s about sending messages that actually get delivered, read, and acted on.
