Difford’s Guide Shakes up their Shipping and Stirs in a Streamlined Fulfilment Process

Difford’s Guide is one of the world’s top drinks resources, famous for its trusted cocktail recipes, detailed product reviews, and industry insights. Founded by Simon Difford in 2001, Difford’s Guide has since grown into a global online destination for bartenders, drinks brands, and home cocktail enthusiasts alike.

Their mission? To inspire great drinks at home and behind the bar – and deliver every order with the same quality and care that goes into their content.

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Challenge

“Our expertise lies in cocktails and publishing, so we had a steep learning curve when it came to e-commerce. Finding specialist and reliable partners to support our aim of providing best-in-class fulfilment took time and research."

Running an online store is a cocktail of challenges: including designing packaging robust enough to protect fragile items, and building efficient shipping workflows from scratch. 

With reliance on external carriers, Difford’s found it hard to maintain full visibility and influence over the final customer experience. Plus, moving from a custom-built website to Shopify meant crafting new shipping workflows tailored perfectly to their evolving business needs.

• Scaling growing pains: Difford’s were quickly outgrowing their custom set-up and needed a new solution as they migrated their shop to Shopify. 
• Peak season pressure: The busy December surge was putting their fulfilment process to the test.
• Delivery oversight: Difford’s needed greater visibility and more control to ensure a smooth and reliable customer delivery experience.
• Platform shift: Moving to Shopify meant creating new shipping workflows that would fit their needs, now and as they scaled.

Solution

"Onboarding with Zenstores – I've been very impressed throughout the whole experience… The team is very accessible and also very flexible in terms of the level of support that they provide to help people."

Partnering with Zenstores brought Difford’s expert, hands-on support to shake up their ecommerce shipping process. The Zenstores team helped craft bespoke shipping workflows designed specifically for Difford’s Shopify site, ensuring everything worked smoothly.

Zenstores Convert served up accurate, dynamic delivery dates to customers – making the checkout experience clearer and reducing confusion. Meanwhile, shipping processes became streamlined with features like automated order import, one-click label printing, and an intuitive dashboard to keep everything in one place.

• Hands-on expert support: Zenstores guided Difford’s through the shipping setup on Shopify.
• Clear delivery communication: Zenstores Convert serves up accurate delivery dates and rates, improving customer clarity.
• Streamlined shipping: Automated order import and one-click label printing sped up processing and reduced errors.
  
  

Results

"Everything has certainly become more streamlined since we moved to Zenstores."

Since teaming up with Zenstores, Difford’s Guide has efficiency and reliability in its ecommerce shipping operations. With expert guidance and ongoing support from the Zenstores team, they’ve built streamlined workflows that have cut down manual tasks and helped them keep pace, even during their busiest periods.

Backed by a partner they can trust, Difford’s is confidently growing their online store while keeping their ecommerce experience as smooth as a perfectly stirred martini.