Phone numbers are a small but important part of a smooth gifting experience. Whether you need them for carrier delivery coordination, age-restricted shipments, or just peace of mind, Zest gives you full control over how and when phone numbers are collected.
This article walks you through everything: how to turn on phone collection, whose number gets captured, what happens if a number isn't provided, and how to keep your Zest and Shopify settings aligned.
Before You Start
You'll need access to the Zest Partners dashboard.
Decide whether you want phone numbers to be required or optional before making changes.
If your Shopify checkout currently requires phone numbers, you must enable the matching setting in Zest as well.
Why Collect Phone Numbers for Gifting Orders
Phone numbers help carriers reach someone when a delivery needs attention — whether that's coordinating a signature, confirming an age-restricted delivery, or rescheduling a missed drop-off. They're particularly important for:
Alcohol and age-restricted deliveries — carriers and compliance systems require a contact number.
International shipments — many carriers require a phone number for cross-border deliveries.
High-value or signature-required orders — carriers use phone numbers to coordinate with recipients.
Even when not strictly required, having a phone number on file reduces failed deliveries and customer service escalations.
Configuring Phone Number Collection
For Storefronts (Corporate Gifting)
In the Zest partner dashboard, navigate to Settings.
Select the Checkout tab.
Find the Phone number collection section.
Toggle the setting to Require customer phone number to collect a phone number at checkout, or Do not collect customer phone number to skip it.
Click Save.
Note: If the setting doesn't appear to save on the first attempt, click Save again and verify the toggle is in the correct position. This is a known behavior in some Shopify checkout editor flows.
For Concierge Orders
Phone numbers for individual recipients are added when building your recipient list:
Single recipient: Enter the recipient's phone number manually in the recipient form.
Multi-recipient (CSV upload): Include a Phone (Optional) column in your CSV. Download the latest Zest CSV template to ensure your file includes the correct column headers.
Once uploaded, each recipient's phone number flows through to their corresponding Shopify Child Order.
Required vs. Optional: Choosing the Right Setting
Use Case | Recommendation |
Alcohol / age-restricted brands | Require — carriers need a contact number for regulated deliveries |
International shipping | Require — most carriers require it for cross-border orders |
Large bulk corporate orders | Optional — gifters often don't have individual recipient numbers |
Standard domestic gifting | Optional — reduces checkout friction |
The general recommendation is to leave phone collection optional unless you have a specific fulfillment or compliance reason to require it. Requiring phone numbers adds friction to checkout and can deter gifters — especially for large bulk orders where the gifter won't have every recipient's personal number.
Important: If your Shopify checkout is configured to require phone numbers, you must enable the phone collection setting in Zest as well. Mismatched settings will cause Shopify to reject orders.
Whose Phone Number Is Collected
Whose phone number is collected depends on which Zest product you're using.
Storefronts (self-service corporate gifting):
The phone number collected at checkout is the gifter's (purchaser's) phone number, not the recipient's. There is no mechanism in storefronts to collect individual recipient phone numbers at checkout.
Concierge (white-glove corporate gifting):
You can collect individual recipient phone numbers via CSV upload or by entering them manually when adding a recipient. Each recipient's number is independent and flows directly to their Shopify Child Order.
Note: In Concierge, once recipient phone numbers are uploaded via CSV, updating the gifter's phone number will not override those individual recipient numbers. Each recipient's phone is managed independently.
Fallback Behavior When a Recipient Phone Is Not Provided
When phone collection is enabled but a specific recipient's number isn't provided, Zest needs something to send to the carrier. Here's how the fallback works:
If "Collect Buyer Phone Number" is enabled (Settings > Checkout): The gifter's phone number is used as the fallback on the Shopify order. This is the recommended configuration.
If the setting is not enabled: The phone field on the Shopify order may be left blank or populated with the brand's phone number, which can result in carriers calling your business to coordinate deliveries.
Tip: Enable phone collection in Settings > Checkout to ensure the gifter's number is used as the fallback — this prevents your business phone from receiving delivery coordination calls.
Note for SMS delivery: Recipients receiving their gift via SMS always require their own phone number — the gifter's phone fallback does not apply to SMS gift delivery.
Aligning Zest and Shopify Phone Number Settings
Zest and Shopify each have their own phone number settings, and they need to be in sync.
Shopify Setting | Zest Setting | Result |
Requires phone number | Phone collection enabled | ✅ Orders process normally |
Requires phone number | Phone collection disabled | ❌ Shopify rejects orders |
Does not require phone | Phone collection enabled | ✅ Phone collected and passed through |
Does not require phone | Phone collection disabled | ✅ Phone not collected |
To check your Shopify setting: Go to your Shopify admin > Settings > Checkout and look for the phone number requirement option.
To update your Zest setting: Go to Zest partner dashboard > Settings > Checkout > Phone number collection.
Both settings must align. If you're seeing checkout errors related to missing phone numbers, this mismatch is the most common cause.
Phone Numbers for Compliance and Age-Restricted Deliveries
If your brand ships alcohol or other regulated products, phone numbers take on added importance:
Carriers (FedEx, UPS, and others) require a contact number for age-restricted deliveries to reach the recipient.
Compliance systems use phone number data as part of order validation.
For alcohol brands, requiring phone numbers is strongly recommended.
Important: Eleven U.S. states require recipient date of birth for alcohol deliveries. Corporate gifters often don't know recipient DOBs, which can cause orders to those states to be held in compliance review. As a workaround, some brands restrict their storefront to ship only to states that do not require recipient DOB, or they collect DOB via custom CSV fields in Concierge.
Troubleshooting Common Phone Number Issues
Customers can't add recipients at multiship checkout
The phone collection setting in Zest may be disabled while your Shopify checkout requires phone numbers. Enable phone collection in Zest (Settings > Checkout) or disable the requirement in Shopify Settings > Checkout. Both must be aligned.
Carriers are calling our business phone number
Your fallback phone is likely set to your brand's phone. Enable "Collect Buyer Phone Number" in Settings > Checkout so the gifter's number is used as the fallback instead.
Phone number field doesn't appear in my Storefront checkout
Navigate to Settings > Checkout and confirm the phone collection toggle is enabled. If it doesn't save on the first attempt, save again and verify the setting persisted.
CSV upload isn't capturing recipient phone numbers (Concierge)
Make sure your CSV includes a column with one of these recognized headers: Phone, Phone (Optional), MobilePhone, or PhoneNumber. Download the latest Zest CSV template to see the correct format.
A recipient uploaded via CSV has the wrong phone number
Updating the gifter's phone in settings will not override phone numbers already uploaded per-recipient via CSV. To correct a recipient's phone number, edit that recipient directly in Concierge.
Phone number field is missing for international recipients
Zest's phone input supports international numbers. If the field accepts a number but validation fails, make sure the number is entered with the correct country code.