International Overview

Selling internationally opens your store to billions of potential customers. With Shopify's built-in tools, you can manage currencies, shipping zones, and duties from a single dashboard.

The key challenges are currency conversion, international shipping costs, customs duties, and creating a localised experience. Each requires careful planning but Shopify makes it manageable.

International Selling Checklist

•Target markets: Identify which countries have demand for your products
•Currency: Enable local currencies to remove conversion friction
•Shipping: Set up international shipping rates and carriers
•Duties and taxes: Decide who pays and configure DDP or DAP
•Localisation: Translate content and adapt for local markets

Shopify Markets

Shopify Markets is the central hub for managing international selling. It lets you create market-specific settings for pricing, currencies, domains, and duties.

Setting Up Markets

1
Access Markets
Go to Settings → Markets in your Shopify admin.
2
Add a Market
Click "Add market" and select the countries you want to sell to. You can group countries into regions.
3
Configure Currency
Enable local currency for the market. Customers will see prices in their currency at checkout.
4
Set Pricing Strategy
Choose auto-conversion based on exchange rates, or set manual prices per market for more control.
5
Configure Duties
Decide whether you or the customer pays duties. Configure tax collection for the market.

Multi-Currency Setup

Multi-currency allows customers to browse and pay in their local currency. This removes friction and increases conversion rates in international markets.

Automatic Currency Conversion

Shopify converts prices using real-time exchange rates. Simple to set up but rates change constantly, which can affect margins.

Manual Price Rounding

Apply rounding rules to converted prices (e.g., round to .99). Creates cleaner prices for customers.

Fixed Pricing

Set specific prices per currency. Full control over margins but requires manual management as exchange rates change.

Currency Selector

Add a currency/country selector to your store so customers can choose their preferred currency. Most themes include this, or use an app like Geolocation.

International Shipping

International shipping requires separate rates for different zones. Consider carrier options, delivery times, and whether to offer tracking.

Shipping Zones

•European Union: Usually the easiest for UK sellers post-Brexit, though VAT registration may be needed
•North America: Large market but customs duties apply over threshold values
•Australia/New Zealand: Strict customs but straightforward process
•Rest of World: Varies significantly by country; research specific requirements

Carrier Options

Postal Services

Royal Mail International, cheaper for light items. Slower delivery but budget-friendly.

International Couriers

DHL, FedEx, UPS. Faster, full tracking, but more expensive. Good for premium products.

Third-Party Logistics

Fulfilment partners with international warehouses. Stock closer to customers for faster delivery.

Aggregators

Easyship, ShipBob. Compare rates across carriers and manage customs documentation.

Duties and Taxes

International orders may incur customs duties and import taxes. How you handle these significantly impacts the customer experience.

DDP vs DAP

DAP (Delivered at Place)

Customer pays duties on delivery. Cheaper for you but can result in surprise charges and refused deliveries. Common approach but not ideal for customer experience.

DDP (Delivered Duty Paid)

You collect duties at checkout and pay them on behalf of the customer. Better experience as there are no surprise charges. Requires Shopify's duty calculation feature.

Enabling Duty Collection

In Shopify Markets, enable "Collect duties and import taxes at checkout" for markets where you want to offer DDP. Shopify calculates duties based on product HS codes.

Localisation

Localisation goes beyond translation. It's about adapting your store for local markets, including language, imagery, and cultural considerations.

Localisation Elements

•Language: Translate key pages, product descriptions, and checkout
•Currency: Display prices in local currency throughout the store
•Payment methods: Enable local payment options (iDEAL, Bancontact, etc.)
•Sizing: Provide local size conversions where relevant
•Customer support: Offer support in local languages and time zones

Translation Options

Shopify Translate & Adapt

Free Shopify app with auto-translation. Good starting point, but review translations for quality.

Langify/Weglot

Third-party apps with professional translation services. Better quality but have ongoing costs.

Best Practices

Follow these best practices for successful international expansion.

International Selling Tips

•Start focused: Begin with 1-2 target markets rather than everywhere at once
•Research demand: Use Google Trends and existing traffic data to identify opportunities
•Test before scaling: Run paid ads to test market response before full localisation
•Clear communication: Be transparent about shipping times and any potential duties
•Local payment methods: Enable popular local payment options to maximise conversion

How to Sell Internationally on Shopify