How a Manchester Retailer Went Global with Shopify Markets

The brand had been getting enquiries from customers in the US, Australia, Germany, and the UAE for years. They'd been turning them away — or sending them through a clunky currency converter and manual shipping calculator — because building a multi-market Shopify store felt technically daunting. Shopify Markets changed that calculation entirely, and we helped them make the move.

What Shopify Markets Provides

Shopify Markets allows merchants to sell to multiple countries from a single Shopify store. It handles localised pricing, currency conversion, local payment methods, and market-specific domain or subdirectory structures. For our client, it meant going international without the overhead of maintaining separate stores or installing a complex multi-currency app stack.

Our Implementation

1. 1Configured six markets: UK (existing), US, Australia, Germany, UAE, and Canada.
2. 2Set market-specific pricing manually for the US and Germany to account for competitive positioning and VAT differences.
3. 3Enabled local payment methods — iDEAL for Netherlands, BNPL options for Australia.
4. 4Implemented geo-redirect with a market selector banner, respecting browser preference.
5. 5Localised content for US and German markets — product descriptions, sizing references, and delivery copy.
6. 6Configured Avalara for automated US tax calculation across states.

Managing International Shipping

Shipping was the client's biggest concern. We integrated their fulfilment provider's API to display real-time carrier rates by market, and configured duty and import tax collection at checkout for relevant markets using Shopify's Delivered Duty Paid feature. This removed the single biggest reason international customers abandon carts: surprise charges on delivery.

“We'd been leaving money on the table for three years. I wish we'd done this sooner — it really wasn't as complicated as we feared.”

Results After 12 Months

• International revenue of £618,000 in the first 12 months — entirely new revenue.
• US became the second largest market within six months.
• International conversion rate of 2.1%, matching the UK performance.
• Cart abandonment on international markets 8% lower than pre-launch estimates.
• Zero customer complaints related to unexpected import charges.