Elevating brand storytelling, simplifying product discovery and creating a more personalised way to shop on Shopify.
Overview
Founded in Sydney in 2010, Kent Street Cellars is an independent Australian-owned retailer specialising in premium wines, Champagne, spirits and glassware. What began as a bottle shop on Kent Street has evolved into an online destination for wine enthusiasts, collectors, gift buyers and customers seeking something exceptional.
With a carefully curated product range and a strong focus on quality, discovery and expert recommendations, Kent Street Cellars needed a digital experience that better reflected its premium positioning while remaining approachable and easy to shop.
Process Creative was engaged to redesign the Shopify experience, bringing together stronger brand storytelling, improved product discovery and more sophisticated gifting functionality.
The Challenge
Kent Street Cellars' existing online store was heavily focused on transactions, with limited opportunities to communicate the expertise, product stories and curation behind the brand.
The challenge was to create a more engaging, premium shopping experience without making it feel exclusive or introducing unnecessary friction into the customer journey.
There was also a critical technical requirement. Kent Street Cellars wanted to move away from its existing search and merchandising platform within a fixed timeframe, replacing key functionality while maintaining a seamless shopping experience.
Our Approach
Our approach was informed by our strategic discovery framework, building a deeper understanding of Kent Street Cellars' business, customers and commercial objectives to ensure every design and development decision had a clear purpose.
With this foundation, we focused on balancing brand expression with practical ecommerce functionality. We introduced a new design system that gave Kent Street Cellars greater flexibility to showcase its products and the stories behind them, while creating clearer pathways from discovery through to purchase.
We prioritised Shopify's native capabilities where they met the brief, supported by custom development for more complex requirements.
This allowed us to deliver a more refined experience while addressing the technical migration and introducing new functionality tailored to the way Kent Street Cellars customers shop.
Key Features
1. Custom gifting and personalisation
Gifting is an important part of the Kent Street Cellars offering, particularly across its premium wine and spirits range. We developed a custom gifting experience that allows customers to personalise eligible products with:
- Gift card selection
- Personalised gift messages
- Gift wrapping options
- Custom bottle engraving on selected products
Using Shopify's nested cart item functionality, we created a seamless way for customers to configure personalised purchases, keeping related gifting selections connected to the product within the cart. This makes it easier to create a considered, personalised gift without complicating the purchase journey.
2. Native Shopify search and discovery
With a fixed timeframe to move away from its existing search and merchandising platform, we rebuilt much of that search and discovery functionality using Shopify's native tools.
This included:
- Product filtering
- Search and quick-search results
- Product upsells
- Product recommendations
By making greater use of Shopify's existing capabilities, we kept the important product discovery functionality in place.
3. Brand storytelling and product discovery
For a retailer with such a carefully curated range, the experience needed to communicate more than product names and prices. We developed new content sections that bring individual brands, their philosophies and product stories to the forefront, giving customers more opportunities to explore the range and understand the expertise behind it. These additions help Kent Street Cellars create a more engaging shopping experience that balances inspiration with a straightforward path to purchase.
4. A more refined design experience
We introduced a cleaner, more cohesive design system that better reflected Kent Street Cellars' premium positioning while retaining the brand's approachable character. Refined layouts, clearer navigation and more considered product presentation made it easier for customers to explore the range, engage with content and find what they were looking for.
The Results
The new Kent Street Cellars website launched with a more refined digital experience, bringing together stronger brand storytelling, improved product discovery and new gifting capabilities.
- A more premium brand experience. A cohesive design system that better reflects the quality and positioning of Kent Street Cellars.
- A smooth platform migration. Key search, filtering and recommendation functionality rebuilt with Shopify's native capabilities, within the required timeframe.
- Richer gifting. Custom gift cards, messages, gift wrapping and bottle engraving, kept together with the product in the cart.
“We're really happy with how the new website has come together. It feels much more aligned with who we are as a brand, and we're looking forward to continuing to build on it together.”
Peta Spyrakis, Ecommerce & Brand, Kent Street Cellars
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