International Selling Checklist for Shopify Stores

Who it is for

Shopify stores opening their first international markets

Time needed

Half a day per market, plus translation time

What you need

Shopify Payments or Adyen and your product HS codes

Selling abroad on Shopify is mostly a settings job, not a rebuild. The stores I see struggle abroad usually have the same gaps: prices shown in the wrong currency, shipping rates that don't cover the new country, a checkout that adds duties the customer didn't expect, or a returns process nobody thought through. Each one is fixable before you open the market, and painful after.

This checklist is for US-based and other Shopify stores opening their first one to three international markets. Work through it once per market. The numbered sections follow the order I set things up for clients: choose the market, configure it, sort payments, language, shipping and duties, tax, then customer service. Each table gives the check, why it matters and where to find it in Shopify. Rules were checked against Shopify's Help Center and government pages on 7 November 2026.

1. Choose where to sell first

Your own analytics are the best guide. If you already get visits and orders from a country without trying, that's the place to start. For most stores, one Shopify store with Markets is easier to run than several stores. Separate stores make sense when you need different catalogs, separate legal entities or a team per country.

2. Set up the market

Shopify says creating regional markets is free on all plans, and you can customize domains and languages for each market on every plan. Some extras depend on the plan: per-market theme customization needs Advanced or higher, and per-market checkout blocks and business entities need Plus. My guide to setting up Shopify Markets for EU customers goes screen by screen.

3. Currency and payment methods

Shopify's markets requirements are clear on this point: to accept payments in multiple currencies, you need Shopify Payments or Adyen. By default, prices convert at the current market exchange rate, and you can set manual rates instead. Payment preferences differ by country, for example iDEAL in the Netherlands, Bancontact in Belgium, Afterpay in Australia and Clearpay in the UK. See how to accept multiple currencies on Shopify and, for Dutch shoppers, setting up iDEAL.

4. Language and domains

Each published language gets its own URLs, so search engines can index each version. Machine translation is a fair start, but have someone read your product pages, policies and checkout text before you launch. My answer on translating a Shopify store and the guide to international SEO on Shopify cover the details.

5. Shipping, customs and duties

There are two ways to handle duties. With DDP (delivered duty paid), the customer pays duties at checkout and nothing on delivery. With DAP (delivered at place), the carrier collects duties from the customer at the door, which leads to refused parcels and angry emails. Shopify's duties feature needs HS codes on your products, a carrier that supports DDP labels if you buy labels through Shopify, and a store that doesn't use Shopify Fulfillment Network. A transaction fee applies to orders with duties calculated at checkout, so check the current rate on Shopify's duties page. My international shipping guide compares carriers and rates.

6. Tax and import rules by country

This is where most owners get caught out, because the rules depend on the customer's country, not yours. These are the rules for the four markets I work with most, as checked on 7 November 2026.

Sources: the UK rule is on GOV.UK, the EU duty on the European Commission's Access2Markets, the US change on U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Australian rule on business.gov.au. The EU's €3 duty is temporary, running from 1 July 2026 to 1 July 2028, and applies whichever VAT scheme you use. For goods already inside the EU, read my guide to EU OSS VAT on Shopify, and for Australia, Shopify and Australian GST. This is general information, not tax advice, so confirm your own position with an accountant.

7. Returns, policies and customer service

EU and UK customers have legal return rights for most online purchases, and your policy can't remove them. My guide to consumer rights and returns rules covers the main points.

8. Launch and measure

1. Preview the market. Use the market preview to browse as a customer from that country.
2. Place a test order. Check the currency, the shipping rate, the duties line and the confirmation email language.
3. Open the market. Activate it and watch the first orders closely.
4. Compare conversion by country. After a few weeks, compare each market's conversion rate with your home market. A big gap usually points to price, delivery cost or language.

Common misses

• No shipping rate for the new country. The market can't be activated without one.
• Duties left to the carrier. The customer pays on the doorstep and often refuses the parcel.
• Prices converted but not rounded. Odd prices look like a currency mistake.
• Half-translated pages. Translate product pages, policies and emails, not just the menu.
• Missing HS codes. Duties can't be calculated without them.

Before you sign off a new market

Next steps

1. Budget the setup. My international Shopify store cost guide breaks down what each part costs.
2. Handle EU duties properly. Read how to handle customs and duties on EU orders.
3. Check your margins. Run each market through the profit margin calculator with shipping and duties included.
4. Get it set up for you. My store design and development starts from $300, with a fixed quote after a free review.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

1. Requirements and considerations for using markets, Shopify Help Center
2. Collecting duties and import taxes at checkout, Shopify Help Center
3. VAT and overseas goods sold directly to customers in the UK, GOV.UK (HMRC)
4. EU applies €3 customs duty per item on low-value e-commerce consignments, European Commission
5. CBP ready to enforce end of de minimis loophole, U.S. Customs and Border Protection
6. International tax, business.gov.au, Australian Government

Related services and work

Written by Ashraf Siddik

I'm a Shopify developer and CRO specialist. I have built and improved Shopify stores since 2018, completed more than 1,000 projects, and hold a 4.96 average rating across 719 client reviews.

About me · Client reviews