Potters Cookshop was first established by Inifer Potter in 1909. Having been in the Potter family ever since, it's graduated from a small village store to a modern cookshop. Potters now sell the biggest brands in kitchenware and host regular culinary events, with previous guests including Raymond Blanc, Ken Hom and Great British Bake Off winner Candice Brown.

Any business is continually changing," says current owner Clive Potter. "Over the years we've moved and expanded." Despite this constant development, nothing could've prepared Potters for the swift increase in demand that Covid caused. 

"From the moment the pandemic happened, we were on roller-skates. Kitchen sales went through the roof. Although classed as 'essential' throughout the pandemic, customer safety was our priority. We stopped customers coming in the shop. It was online or they came and picked it up from the back door. Even when we re-opened, we had security on the door controlling the amount of people that came in, making sure they had masks on, making sure they were sanitizing."

Although now functioning on a much larger scale than it was in 1909, Potters has retained all the charm of a traditional village store. Subsequently, it's important to Clive that this experience translates online. To do this, they make sure the information on the website is good and it's easy to navigate.

"We're very happy," Clive explains - before pointing us towards their impressive Trustpilot reviews. "The tracking is excellent because we get feedback from the customers about how well informed they've been."

Clive believes customers are happy with the online experience because it's a simple process that works. The delivery has an important part to play in that, but it also helps that DHL eCommerce UK can provide trust, confidence, and personability. 

This is a big selling point for Clive, going on to explain the effectiveness of their regular collection driver too. "The DHL eCommerce UK driver is excellent,"

In-store business has of course increased for Potters Cookshop as lockdown measures have eased. That's not to say, though, that the online experience will be taking a backseat. "We're committed to online and in-store," Clive says, "In-store business has gone up again but we want to do both." I ask how DHL eCommerce UK are supporting this continual focus on their online channels;