Selling Internationally with Shopify: The Honest Guide for Cross-Border E-Commerce

Why Internationalization Is No Longer a Nice-to-Have

The European e-commerce market is projected to reach 805 billion dollars in 2026. Global cross-border e-commerce is growing at an annual rate of 23.5% and is expected to exceed 18 trillion dollars by 2034. These are not abstract numbers -- this is money flowing past your store if you only sell domestically.

59% of global online shoppers regularly buy from foreign merchants. 35% do so at least once a month. This means your potential customers are already shopping internationally. The question is whether they buy from you -- or from your competitors.

Shopify merchants moved goods worth over 292 billion dollars across borders in 2024. During Black Friday / Cyber Monday 2025, 16% of all orders were international orders. The trend is unmistakable.

And yet: Only 7% of European SMEs sell cross-border, even though 25% of all online revenue in Europe is cross-border. That is a massive gap -- and a massive opportunity for anyone who seizes it. German merchants in particular are conservative: only 10% of German e-commerce revenue (approximately 8.9 billion EUR out of 88.8 billion) goes to international buyers.

But here is the reality: selling internationally sounds easier than it is. Customs, taxes, shipping, localization, payment methods -- merchants fail at every one of these points. This guide shows you how to do it right.

Shopify Markets: What It Can and Cannot Do

Shopify Markets is Shopify's integrated solution for international selling. It is included in all plans (Basic, Shopify, Advanced, Plus) -- so you pay nothing extra upfront.

What Shopify Markets Offers

• Multi-currency: Display prices in the customer's local currency
• Language adaptation: Store content in multiple languages
• Country-specific pricing: Adjust prices individually per market
• Duties and taxes: Automatic calculation of import duties and taxes at checkout
• Local domains: Subdomains or subfolders per market (e.g., fr.yourstore.com)
• Intelligent routing: Customers are directed to the appropriate market based on IP and browser language

Managed Markets: The All-in-One Solution

For merchants who want it simpler, there is Managed Markets. Here, Shopify takes over even more:

• Guaranteed duty and tax amounts: Shopify guarantees the calculated import duties -- if actual costs are higher, Shopify covers the difference
• DDP shipping (Delivered Duty Paid): The customer pays everything at checkout -- no surprises upon delivery
• Automatic HS code assignment: Shopify classifies your products for customs
• Fraud protection: Fraud review and chargeback protection on every order

Costs: Managed Markets charges a 3.5% transaction fee (Basic/Grow/Advanced) or 3.25% (Plus), plus 1.5% currency conversion. That sounds like a lot -- but it pays for itself when you consider the alternative (handling customs yourself, tax consulting, chargebacks).

That sounds perfect. In practice, however, there are limitations that are rarely discussed.

The Reality Checks

HS codes are complex: An incorrect HS code can mean the difference between 0% and 15% duty. Shopify's automatic classification is a good start, but for specialized products, you should verify the codes manually.

Not all markets are equally profitable: Shipping costs, return rates, and payment defaults vary significantly by country. Selling to Switzerland is logistically straightforward, but the customs formalities for non-EU countries are time-consuming.

Localization is more than translation: 76% of global consumers prefer to shop in their native language. 40% never buy on English-language sites. And conversion rates increase by up to 70% after full localization -- even a simple translation already delivers a 13% improvement. But currency, language, and units of measurement alone are not enough -- local holidays, date formats, and cultural nuances play an equally important role.

The DACH Market: The Logical First Step

For German Shopify merchants, expansion into the DACH region (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) is the most obvious first step. Here is why:

Austria

• Same language, similar purchasing habits
• EU member: No customs, same VAT framework
• Same payment preferences: PayPal, Klarna, credit card
• Low entry barrier: You essentially just need Austrian shipping options

Switzerland

• Same language (German-speaking Switzerland, approximately 65% of the population)
• High purchasing power: Swiss consumers spend above-average amounts online
• BUT: Not EU: Customs declaration required, import VAT (7.7% VAT rate)
• De minimis threshold: Below 65 CHF in goods value, imports are often duty-free
• Shipping: DHL, DPD, and Post CH offer standardized cross-border solutions

Common Mistakes in DACH Expansion

1. Ignoring Austrian German: "Paradeiser" instead of "Tomaten," "Sackerl" instead of "Tuete" -- small differences that build or destroy trust
2. Underestimating Swiss shipping costs: CHF 7-15 for shipping is normal, but returns from Switzerland can be expensive
3. Not calculating Swiss VAT correctly: Above 100,000 CHF annual revenue in Switzerland, you must register for VAT there

Payment Methods: The Underestimated Conversion Killer

This is where most merchants lose money internationally without realizing it. Every country has different preferred payment methods -- and if you offer the wrong ones, customers abandon at checkout.

Payment Preferences by Country

The Conversion Impact

BNPL services like Klarna can increase conversion rates by up to 30%. Apple Pay and Google Pay are still relatively low in usage but growing rapidly -- especially among younger demographics.

The ideal combination for the German market: Shopify Payments (credit card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Klarna) plus PayPal Express. For international markets: add the respective local payment method.

Taxes and Customs: Where It Gets Really Complicated

Within the EU: The OSS Regulation

Since July 2021, the One-Stop-Shop (OSS) has been in effect. It simplifies intra-European trade considerably -- in 2024, over 24 billion EUR was reported through the Union OSS, a 26% increase over 2023:

• No more delivery thresholds: Previously, you had to register for VAT in the destination country above a certain revenue level. Now you report everything through the OSS in your home country
• One tax return: Quarterly through your national tax authority
• Local VAT rates: You still charge the VAT rate of the destination country (e.g., 21% for the Netherlands, 20% for France)
• NEW since January 2025: SME exemption -- e-commerce merchants can register as VAT-exempt if total revenue is below 100,000 EUR and the local thresholds in each EU country are not exceeded

Important change in 2026: The EU has decided to abolish the previous 150 EUR duty-free threshold. Instead, a flat customs duty of 3 EUR per article will be levied on cheap imports from third countries. This primarily affects Temu, Shein, and similar platforms -- and represents a competitive advantage for EU-based merchants, because cheap imports from China will become more expensive.

Outside the EU: Customs and Import VAT

This is where things get truly complex. Every country has its own de minimis thresholds:

DDP vs. DAP: When you calculate and collect duties and taxes at checkout (DDP -- Delivered Duty Paid), the customer has no surprises upon delivery. With DAP (Delivered at Place), the customer must pay extra to the carrier -- this leads to package rejections, negative reviews, and returns.

Our recommendation: Always offer DDP. The extra complexity in setup pays for itself because it massively reduces customer service costs and returns.

Shipping: The Biggest Hurdle

Shipping Cost Reality for International Shipments from Germany

Strategies for Shipping Costs

1. Offer free shipping above a threshold: e.g., "Free shipping on orders over 100 EUR" -- increases the average cart value
2. Flat-rate shipping per region: Easy to communicate, customers know what they will pay in advance
3. Real-time carrier rates: Shopify calculates actual shipping costs -- honest, but sometimes off-putting
4. Fulfillment partner in the destination country: At high volume (more than 100 orders/month in a market), a local warehouse is worthwhile

International Returns

This is the point many forget: Returns from abroad are expensive. A return from France costs 8-15 EUR for shipping alone, from the USA 25-40 EUR. Options:

• Local return address: Partner with a fulfillment provider who accepts returns locally
• No return for low-value items: For products under 20 EUR, it can be cheaper to refund the purchase price without requiring a return
• Return fee: Accepted in many markets, still controversial in Germany

Localization: More Than Just Translation

What You Need to Localize

1. Product descriptions: Not just translate, but adapt. What is called "Nachttischlampe" in German Germany might need different phrasing in Austrian German
2. SEO per market: Keywords differ massively -- French customers search differently than German ones
3. Images and models: Customers trust images that reflect their culture
4. Size charts: EU sizes are not UK sizes are not US sizes
5. Legal pages: Privacy policy, terms of service, and legal notices must be adapted to local laws
6. Customer service: At minimum, email support in the local language

SEO for International Markets

For each market, you need a well-thought-out SEO strategy:

• Hreflang tags: Signal to Google which language version is intended for which country. Next.js and next-intl handle this automatically
• Local keywords: Use tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush to analyze country-specific search volumes
• Local backlinks: Press releases, guest posts, and partnerships in target markets
• Google Search Console: Set up separate properties per country/language

ROI Calculation: When Does Internationalization Pay Off?

Startup Costs

When Does It Become Profitable?

Assuming your average cart value is 80 EUR with a 40% margin (32 EUR gross profit per order):

• Break-even on one-time costs: 41-134 orders from the new market
• Monthly break-even: 17-67 orders/month

For most stores, the DACH expansion pays for itself within 3-6 months. More distant markets (USA, UK) typically need 6-12 months, but the growth potential is significantly larger.

The Key Takeaway

Internationalization is not a switch you flip. It is a process that starts with one market and grows incrementally. Start with Austria (virtually zero setup effort), expand to Switzerland (moderate effort), and then tackle the larger markets (UK, France, Netherlands).

The most common mistake: trying to do everything at once. Launching 10 markets simultaneously sounds ambitious but leads to none of them working properly. Focus on one market, make it profitable, and then move to the next.

Because in the end, it is not the number of markets that determines your success -- it is how well you perform in each one.