THE POST-HEMP STORE LAYOUT: HOW TO REBUILD YOUR SHOP TO SELL WITHOUT INTOXICATING HEMP

Chad Wade TVChad Wade
THE POST-HEMP STORE LAYOUT: HOW TO REBUILD YOUR SHOP TO SELL WITHOUT INTOXICATING HEMP
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Most smoke shop owners think layout is about “looking nice.”
Wrong.
Layout is psychology.
Layout is sales velocity.
Layout is cash flow.
Layout is survival.
And when a category as large as intoxicating hemp disappears — your entire store layout has to evolve.
You can’t run a post-hemp shop with a pre-hemp layout.
You can’t sell new categories with old shelving.
You can’t promote botanicals in the vape section.
You can’t drive cash flow if customers can’t FIND your new money makers.
You can’t survive with a layout built for a product that no longer exists.
This blog breaks down:
  • How to rebuild your entire store layout step-by-step
  • Where your new categories should go
  • Which sections get expanded or shrunk
  • How UNSWholesale.com supplies your new layout needs
  • How to engineer customer flow for maximum profit
  • How to visually replace hemp with stronger categories
  • Why your layout will decide if you survive the next 12 months
Let’s get into it.
1. If Hemp Leaves, Your Current Layout Becomes a Liability
Your store today is probably laid out like this:
  • Hemp at eye level
  • Hemp in glass cases
  • Hemp dominating end-caps
  • Hemp behind the counter
  • Hemp near the register
  • Hemp signage everywhere
  • Hemp bundles and promos
It’s not your fault — that’s what the last 4 years required.
But when hemp disappears, a hemp-centric layout triggers:
❌ empty space
❌ customer confusion
❌ dead zones
❌ unclear priorities
❌ psychological “something is missing” effect
❌ lost impulse sales
❌ collapsing margins
❌ perception of decline
Your store layout must be rebuilt BEFORE the category disappears — not after.
Because layout is messaging.
Layout is identity.
Layout is strategy.
If you rebuild your layout correctly, customers feel:
✔ confidence
✔ stability
✔ professionalism
✔ clarity
✔ excitement
If you do nothing?
They feel:
❌ “Damn… this place is falling off.”
❌ “They don’t know what’s going on.”
❌ “I should check out other shops.”
Your layout decides your future more than any single product.
2. The New Anchor Categories of a Post-Hemp Store
Here are the categories that will take over hemp’s prime real estate:
✔ High-Priority, High-Visibility Categories
These MUST go eye-level, prime shelving, end-caps, front displays:
✔ Secondary, High-Velocity Categories
These must be near eye-level and grab attention but don’t need prime hero positioning:
  • Wraps
  • Cones
  • Rolling papers
  • Lighters
  • Torches
  • Butane
  • Grinders
✔ Counter-Level, Impulse Categories
These MUST be near checkout:
  • Incense
  • Screens
  • Tips
  • Basic accessories
  • Travel pipes
  • Palm-sized pieces
  • Torch refills
These drive the fastest cash flow.
3. The Exact Layout Formula: “Flow, Focus, Funnel”
Every store that survives the hemp collapse will rebuild using these three pillars:
FLOW — How customers move
FOCUS — What customers see
FUNNEL — Where customers buy
Let’s build each piece.
FLOW: Engineer the Path Customers Walk
When customers enter your store, they naturally:
  1. Turn right
  2. Walk the outer wall
  3. Loop closely around the store
  4. End at the register
Your job is to place categories along this flow path in the perfect order.
✔ Station 1 (Front Right Wall): Botanical Wall
Why?
  • Customers are curious
  • It’s new
  • It replaces hemp psychologically
  • It sets the tone for your pivot
Put UNS botanical SKUs here:
Herbal blends (search inside UNS shop).
✔ Station 2 (Right Side): Functional Mushrooms
Show:
  • Lion's Mane
  • Focus formulas
  • Energy blends
  • Calm blends
✔ Station 3 (Back Wall): Glass Wall
This is where the money lives.
Light it.
Clean it.
Feature it.
UNS → Shop
Search “Glass,” “Water Pipes,” “Hand Pipes”
✔ Station 4 (Left Wall): Kratom
Professional display — clean, spaced, lit, organized.
✔ Station 5 (Front Left): Wraps, Cones, Papers
High movement, high visibility.
✔ Station 6 (Counter Zone): Accessories
Everything small lives here:
  • torches
  • butane
  • grinders
  • tips
  • screens
  • lighters
  • incense
This is pure daily cash flow.
FOCUS: Force Customers to See What You Need Them to Buy
You can’t hope customers “find” your new profit centers.
You must force their eyeballs onto them.
Use these tools:
✔ Lighting
If you light it, they look at it.
If you don’t, they ignore it.
Top priority for lighting:
  1. Glass
  2. Botanicals
  3. Mushrooms
  4. Kratom
✔ Signage
Signs should say:
  • “New Legal Alternatives”
  • “Blue Lotus for Calm + Sleep”
  • “Focus & Energy Mushrooms”
  • “Premium Glass Drops Weekly”
NOT:
  • “Sale”
  • “Discount”
  • “Cheap”
✔ Color psychology
  • Greens → wellness
  • Purples → calm
  • Blues → focus
  • Gold/black → premium glass
✔ Height
Eye-level = money-level.
FUNNEL: Where Customers Buy (The Counter Is Your ATM)
In a post-hemp world, your counter becomes the strongest sales funnel in your entire store.
Here’s how to weaponize it:
✔ Put fast-movers at the counter
  • wraps
  • cones
  • lighters
  • incense
  • mini glass
  • torches
  • shots (kratom)
  • mushroom gummies
✔ Use the 3-Foot Rule
Any customer within 3 feet of the counter must see:
  • a botanical solution
  • a mushroom solution
  • an accessory bundle
  • something NEW
✔ Use Bundle Language
Teach employees to say:
“A lot of customers get a grinder with this.”
“People usually grab wraps and a lighter too.”
“If you need focus or energy, these mushroom gummies are popular.”
This unlocks 10–30% more revenue instantly.
4. How to Convert Your Hemp Space Into Profit Space
You’re going to have a LOT of space available.
Here’s how to break it down:
✔ Space that used to hold hemp gummies?
Replace with:
  • mushroom gummies
  • botanical blends
  • small glass pieces
✔ Space that used to hold hemp carts?
Replace with:
  • lotus extract droppers
  • mushroom capsules
  • kratom capsules
✔ Space that used to hold hemp flower?
Replace with:
  • herbal smokeable blends
  • glass bowls
  • grinders
  • wraps
✔ Space that used to hold hemp vapes?
Replace with:
  • torches
  • butane
  • papers
  • novelty items
Every hemp zone must be replaced with something that MOVES.
5. Create the “Exploration Zone” (This Sells Like Crazy)
A small 3–6 foot section designed specifically for new shoppers.
Sign it as:
“New Legal Alternatives — Explore What’s New”
Stock it with:
This section prints money because people love discovery.
6. How UNSWholesale.com Powers Your New Layout
UNS gives you the categories you NEED for a new layout:
✔ Botanicals
✔ Mushrooms
✔ Glass
✔ Kratom
(Use UNS search bar)
✔ Accessories
The layout you’re building is only as strong as the products you put in it.
UNS supplies the exact lineup needed for survival.
7. How to Train Your Staff on the New Layout (Critical)
Your staff must understand:
  • the categories
  • the benefits
  • the customer flow path
  • where everything is
  • the purpose of each section
  • how to direct customers
  • how to sell along the flow
Have them rehearse:
“We moved hemp out, but we added a bunch of new legal wellness products — let me show you.”
“Our new glass wall is over here — lots of upgrades.”
“If you’re looking for calm or sleep, check out this new botanical section.”
Staff behavior is the difference between a layout that works…
and a layout that looks good but doesn’t sell.
8. The Layout Audit Checklist (Do This Tonight)
Print this and walk your store.
✔ Is your hemp gone or marked down?
✔ Is your front right wall now botanicals?
✔ Is your right side mushrooms & wellness?
✔ Is your back wall glass?
✔ Is your left wall kratom?
✔ Are wraps/papers at eye-level?
✔ Are accessories at the counter?
✔ Are impulse items at the register?
✔ Is lighting updated?
✔ Are signs clear and positive?
✔ Is the “New Alternatives” zone built?
If not — fix it.
Your layout is your survival engine now.
9. Want Me to Design Your Layout Personally? (I Do This for Owners Weekly)
Inside ChadWadeTV Consulting, I help owners:
  • redesign their entire layout
  • reposition every category
  • map customer flow
  • rebuild impulse zones
  • restructure shelving
  • fix lighting
  • adjust margins
  • improve sales psychology
  • train staff
  • build survival systems
To book your session:
✔ ChadWadeTV → Contact / Coaching
URL: https://chadwadetv.com/pages/contact
Clean Link:
ChadWadeTV Consulting
If you want your new layout to SELL, not just look better —
I’m the one you want designing it.
10. Final Word: Your Store Layout Is Either a Money Machine or a Silent Killer
Hemp is disappearing — but your future isn’t.
Your layout will determine:
✔ whether customers stay
✔ whether new categories succeed
✔ whether your cash flow stabilizes
✔ whether your store survives
✔ whether your pivot works
✔ whether you thrive in this new era
Most owners will leave their layout exactly the same — and they’ll go out of business. You won’t. Because you’re rebuilding NOW. You’re planning NOW. You’re moving NOW. You’re NOT waiting for disaster — you’re preparing before it hits. That’s what real operators do. Let’s build your new store — and let’s build it to WIN.
A new store layout means a new future. Build it now.
👉 Rebuild your product sections with UNSWholesale.com
👉 Get your personalized layout strategy at ChadWadeTV.com/Contact
Move early. Win early. Survive always.
Tags: Chad wade tv, Hemp ban, Retail strategy, Smoke shop layout, Store pivot, Uns wholesale, Wellness products

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