The problem
Vineyards sell much of their wine to people who visited once and liked it, and without an easy way to keep buying, those visitors go back to the supermarket. A vineyard with 80 club members on a paper list, invoiced by email each month, spends 10 minutes per member per shipment: 800 minutes, over 13 hours a month, and payments still arrive late.
What the AI does
Shopify is an online shop platform. The free Shopify Subscriptions app, listed on the Shopify App Store, offers auto-billed subscriptions that renew weekly, monthly or yearly, with discounts, and lets customers cancel, skip or pause. Sell the club as a monthly 3-bottle subscription with a member price; members are charged automatically and you pack and post from the order list. Shopify's UK pricing page lists Basic at $33£25€30A$48C$47 a month, or $25£19€23A$36C$36 billed yearly, with card fees of 2% + 25p online. Shopify doesn't check a buyer's age, so the duty not to sell alcohol to under-18s stays with you and your delivery method.
A worked example
A vineyard in Kent with a cellar door has 80 club members taking 3 bottles a month for $80£60€71A$115C$113 invoiced by email each month and posted out. About 10 pay late each month.
Before
80 email invoices a month at 10 minutes each: about 13.3 hours a month, with about 10 late payers
After
Members billed automatically, with about 2 hours a month checking failed payments and the packing list
What it's worth
About $620£466€555A$895C$876 a month, against about $188£141€168A$271C$265 including card fees. That is 11.3 hours a month saved (13.3 down to 2) at an assumed $27£20€24A$38C$38 an hour, $301£226€269A$434C$425 plus $319£240€286A$461C$451 in profit from an assumed 10 new members joining online (10 × $80£60€71A$115C$113 at an assumed 40% margin). Shopify Basic is $33£25€30A$48C$47 a month, and card fees online are 2% + 25p: $1.93£1.45€1.73A$2.78C$2.73 on a $80£60€71A$115C$113 order, $154£116€138A$223C$218 for the 80 current members. The 10 new members are an assumption.
How to set it up
- Check your premises license covers online and mail-order sales, and decide how you'll make sure buyers are over 18.
- Open a Shopify Basic shop and add the club as a product: 3 bottles a month for $80£60€71A$115C$113.
- Install the free Shopify Subscriptions app and set the club up as a monthly subscription with a member discount.
- Invite existing members to sign up on the new page, with a date when email invoices stop.
- Each month, pack from the subscription orders and contact anyone whose payment failed.
What goes wrong
- The app listing offers weekly, monthly or yearly renewals, not quarterly. A quarterly club needs another app or a different setup.
- Reviews on the app listing say billing renews on the date each member signed up, so orders come through the month rather than on one packing day.
- Shopify's pricing page doesn't say whether VAT is added, and card fees come off every member payment.
- Shopify doesn't verify age. Use a delivery method where you can stop wine being handed to under-18s.