Is your Shopify store thriving in your local market? If so, it could be the right time to move into international eCommerce. In this competitive eCommerce world, serving a global audience with international eCommerce isn’t just an advantage—it’s a necessity. Shopify Plus offers powerful tools that allow businesses to set up an international store efficiently. Major brands like Gymshark and Kylie Cosmetics use Shopify Plus to connect worldwide customers, ensuring they deliver a seamless shopping experience across the globe.
What is Shopify Markets?
Before moving into the setup guide, it's important to understand what is Shopify Market and how it can simplify international commerce. Shopify Market is a one-stop tool designed to manage multiple markets from a single Shopify store. It helps merchants expand their business to a global audience, sell to multiple countries, and scale internationally. It helps businesses to reach customers in various countries by offering localised experiences, including:
Multi-Currency Support: Support multi-currency transactions with a 1.25% payout fee, enhancing convenience for international customers.
Language Localisation: Present your store in 20 different languages, ensuring effective communication with different audiences.
Automated Tax and Duty Calculations: Simplify compliance with local regulations by automatically calculating taxes and duties at checkout.
Advanced Analytics: Monitor performance across different markets, enabling data-driven decisions for future strategies.
Step-by-Step Guide to Expanding Your Shopify Store into an International Store
1. Analyse Your Market Strategy:
Start by analysing which markets you want to target, since different markets around the globe have unique browsing and purchasing habits. Use Shopify’s built-in analytics or third-party tools to identify your top-performing regions.
2. Configure Shopify Payments:
If you don't have a Shopify Payment set up, start by setting up Shopify Payments as your primary payment gateway. Users of Shopify Payments can allow customers browse, pay, and receive refunds in their local currency. Go to Settings > Payments in your Shopify admin to activate this feature.
3. Enable Shopify Markets:
To start selling to a new country; you'll first need to add a new market within your Shopify admin. Navigate to Settings > Markets and select the countries you wish to target. Your new market is now set up. For each market, you can:
- Customise pricing and currency settings
- Set up language preferences
- Assign subdomains or country-specific domains
- Adjust tax settings
4. Localise Your Store:
Tailor your content to resonate with local audiences. Utilise Shopify's translation apps to localise your content. This includes everything from product descriptions checkout processes, and customer service communications.
5. Add New Currencies:
Pricing should also reflect local economic conditions. According to Shopify, 33% of international visitors won’t consider making a purchase if their local currency isn’t offered. Use Shopify Markets to set regional pricing, including taxes and duties.
6. Set Up Marketing Strategies:
Once your online store is all setup, it’s time to spread the word and let them know you’re open for business. Use Shopify’s inbuilt marketing tools to create targeted campaigns for each market accordingly. Consider using Shopify's built-in SEO features to optimise your store for international search engines. Shopify Plus also integrates with platforms like Klaviyo and Yotpo, helping you run highly targeted campaigns.
7. Test and Launch:
Before going live, rigorously test every aspect of your international store such as Currency, conversion Language ,Payment and Shipping options. Launch your international store, once everything is in place.
8.Monitor Performance:
To track the performance of your international store, use the analytics tools provided by Shopify Markets. Keep a close eye and regularly review data's and market trends to monitor your site performance and adjust your strategies as needed.
Conclusion
Setting up an international store on Shopify Plus isn’t just about going global; it’s about doing it right. Selling internationally with Shopify can be simple, however there are a number of areas that you need to carefully consider to ensure a streamlined eCommerce experience for your customers. We've supported many merchants like Duke + Dexter, Alpkit, Dropdead, and Piglet in Bed in implementing geolocation-driven, multi-store strategies to optimise their international selling. Let Shopify Plus simplify the complexity of global commerce.
If you’d like to discuss how we can help you launch your international selling strategy. Get in touch!
