Shopify Markets is an all-in-one cross-border management tool that facilitates international eCommerce from one central store. The tool features innovative functionalities that make it possible to customize markets for varying consumer segments. Businesses use this tool for expansion into overseas markets.
An all-around Shopify localization strategy should include multiple languages capabilities to reach the targeted audience in their native language. Users can enable this feature from their Shopify Admin panel to automatically generate native language URLs that redirect users to the translated pages.
Customizing your store’s content will likely boost sales because consumers can better understand product specifications, marketing intentions, and even after-sale services. Unless you are on the Shopify Lite plan, you can translate and sell your products in up to 20 native languages across the globe.
Merchants who sell products through Shopify cross border can customize shipping and tax charges at the state and regional levels. However, this is only required if the merchant is obligated to charge a sales tax on every purchase, or whether the product in question is taxable.
The requirements for shipping and tax fee vary with region. Shopify recommends consulting a tax expert in the region before enabling location-based tax rates in the admin panel. Also, note that some regions, such as the UK might require merchants to include sales tax in the product’s price tag.
Businesses can optimize price displays to appear in local currencies as opposed to the standard currency used in all markets. This Shopify localization strategy can either include cosmetic or true customization. In cosmetic localization, merchants convert their product prices into local currencies using the foregoing exchange rates.
In true localization, merchants leverage price sensitivity studies to charge accurate prices for their products in the native currency of a specific location. The latter option enhances greater accuracy and consistency in Shopify international shipping.
Shopify Payments is only available for shops of certain countries or regions. Review the full list of countries where the Shopify payments feature is available.
Also, in order to use Shopify Payments, you have to comply with the following bank requirements:
– Your bank account is a full checking account (or current account for UK and Ireland);
– Your bank account uses the payout currency of your region;
– Your bank account can accept the electronic money transfers.
In addition, you have to provide the information about you and your business, in order to go through the verification procedure and guarantee that your business is not participating in money laundering, terrorist financing or other financial violations.
The Inventory and fulfillment are not shown by default on the Shopify online store. However, with the Markets feature, the inventory levels are reflecting the available inventory for the customers of a certain location. This feature is only accessible by select merchants who send a request to Shopify.
In order to use international Shopify domain, set up one by using either Shopify-managed domain or third-party domains. You can use top-level domains, subdomains, subfolders or a mixture of each.
For instance, you have an electronics shop named Super Power and you sell both in US and Italy, using different currencies and languages. Then you can use the following domains:
– superpower.com for United States;
– superpower.it, it.superpower.com or superpower.com/it-it for Italy.
Select Shopify merchants can charge duties and import taxes during checkout if they meet certain requirements, such as being in top-tier Shopify plans (Advanced or Plus Shopify), applied HS codes to their products, do not utilize the Shopify fulfillment network. Businesses must also have a secondary shipping service besides using registration-based taxes.
