With an estimated sales of $22 billion expected in the CBD industry by 2022, it was only a matter of time before Shopify allowed the retail of hemp and hemp-derived CBD products on their platform.
Shopify announced its intention to allow CBD retailers to market their products on its platform and this commenced September 17th 2019. Shopify, which boasts over 800,000 thousand global merchants on their platform, has promised to make the required resources needed by CBD sellers available for successful transactions on their site.
Some of the tools available to them include their marketing tools and other apps designed to handle inventory and logistics. This announcement came just a few weeks after their competitor BigCommerce announced the release of tools that were designed specifically for CBD merchants.
However, while getting prepped to cash in on this opportunity to achieve a wider reach with your CBD business or if you intend to start selling CBD online due to this change in the market, it is important that you know and understand some of the newest policies guiding the sale of CBD products on Shopify.
Latest 2020 Shopify policies for CBD retailers
- Hemp or hemp-derived CBD products that are allowed for sale on Shopify
CBD merchants are only allowed to sell CBD products that meet the stipulated definition of hemp as can be found in the 2018 Farm Bill. Those CBD products must also comply with other applicable laws under the federal, state and local laws. Sale of CBD products derived from marijuana is not permitted on Shopify.
Shopify only permits US merchants to list tropical and consumable CBD products on their platform provided they are located in a state where the sale of such product is explicitly permitted and provided they comply with all laws enacted towards the sale of hemp and hemp-derived CBD products.
- Sale of hemp and hemp-derived CBD products on Shopify by merchants located outside of the United States
The Attestation for the Sale of Hemp and Hemp-Derived Products is only meant for merchants located in the United States. Merchants in Canada seeking to sell CBD online on Shopify must obtain a license for the sale of cannabis and are required to enroll in Shopify Plus.
Merchants from other places are required to comply with Shopify’s Terms of Service and Acceptable Use Policy. This includes ensuring that they are selling products with regards to all regulations and applicable laws.
- Payment system for existing retailers who are interested in adding CBD products to their store
Stores that sell hemp or CBD products are not allowed to make use of the Shopify Payments to process payments. For old retailers who currently use Shopify Payments and intend to add CBD products to their store, the following options are available to them.
- They have the liberty to switch their payment settings from Shopify Payments to any third-party payment provider that allows the sale of CBD products. They can also choose to open a second store which they can exclusively reserve for their CBD products and integrate a third-party payment provider for that particular store. The existing store will not be affected as long the merchant doesn’t add any CBD products to it.
Understanding and paying close attention to these set of policies is one sure way of keeping your CBD themed Shopify store safe from restriction.
For new ways of looking for how to sell CBD online, going through these policies is one good way to start. Only then will you have a strong understanding of how you can use the Shopify platform to sell CBD.
