International Expansion
Opening a new market means more than switching the currency symbol. Every country has its own payment preferences, shipping expectations, tax requirements, and customer behaviour patterns. Get these wrong and your international expansion becomes an expensive experiment with no return.
We set up international commerce infrastructure that handles the complexity so your team can focus on growing the business in each market.
Shopify Markets
Shopify Markets lets you sell in multiple countries from a single store with localised pricing, currencies, languages, and domains. We configure Markets to handle your specific market strategy - whether that's a few key countries or a global rollout.
Expansion stores
For brands that need complete separation between markets - different product ranges, localised content, market-specific promotions - we build dedicated expansion stores that share a single Shopify Plus backend. Same operational efficiency, completely independent storefronts.
Multi-currency and localised checkout
Currency conversion, local payment methods (Klarna, Afterpay, iDEAL, etc.), country-specific tax calculation, and localised checkout experiences. We set up the payment infrastructure so customers in each market can buy the way they expect to.
Cross-border logistics
International shipping rules, customs documentation, duties and taxes (DDP vs DDU), and fulfilment routing. We integrate your international logistics stack so orders route to the right warehouse and customers get accurate delivery estimates.
SEO for international markets
Hreflang tags, country-specific sitemaps, localised metadata, and proper URL structures. We set up the technical SEO foundation so each market builds its own organic presence without cannibalising your existing rankings.
International expansion makes sense when you've saturated your domestic market growth, you're already getting international traffic and orders organically, your product has proven demand in target markets, and your operations can handle multi-market fulfilment. We'll help you evaluate readiness and prioritise markets based on opportunity and operational feasibility.
Should I use Shopify Markets or separate expansion stores?
It depends on how different each market needs to be. Shopify Markets is ideal when you're selling the same product range across countries with localised pricing and language. Expansion stores make sense when markets need completely different product ranges, unique promotions, or distinct brand positioning.
How do I handle international shipping and duties?
We integrate with international logistics providers and configure Shopify's shipping settings for each market. For duties and taxes, we can set up either DDP (delivered duty paid - you handle duties) or DDU (delivered duty unpaid - customer handles duties) depending on your market strategy and margin structure.
Will international expansion affect my existing store's SEO?
Not if it's set up properly. We implement hreflang tags, country-specific sitemaps, and proper canonical structures so search engines understand the relationship between your stores. Your existing rankings are preserved while each new market builds its own presence.
How long does it take to set up a new international market?
A Shopify Markets configuration for a new country typically takes 2 to 4 weeks. A dedicated expansion store with custom design and integrations takes 8 to 14 weeks depending on complexity. We'll scope it based on your specific requirements.