Selling internationally on Shopify: a Markets setup checklist for the holidays

If you want to know how to sell internationally on Shopify, the short answer is: use Markets. From the Markets page in your Shopify admin you can group the countries you want to sell to, show shoppers prices in their own currency, give each market a domain or subfolder and a language, and decide how duties and import taxes are handled at checkout. Creating regional markets is free on every Shopify plan.

The harder part is getting the details right before a shopper in another country reaches your checkout. A market with no shipping rates can't be activated, a store with no country selector traps shoppers who were matched to the wrong market, and duty estimates are only as good as the product data behind them.

This guide walks through the setup in order, with a checklist. If you want international orders over Black Friday Cyber Monday, finishing it in October leaves time to test.

Start with the markets Shopify already made for you

Every new store gets two markets automatically. Your domestic market is your home country or region, based on your store address and currency. Shopify also creates an international market with a suggested list of countries where similar merchants sell, and that market is inactive by default.

Go to Markets in your Shopify admin and review both. Then decide how to group countries. If you treat every country in Europe the same way, one market for Europe is enough. If you want different prices, products or content for, say, the UK and Germany, give each its own market.

To add one, click Create market, name it, add a Regions condition with the countries, and choose Draft if you want to preview it before shoppers see it. Shopify's guide to creating and activating markets has the full steps.

Set shipping rates before you activate a market

Shipping can block a launch. Markets can be activated only for countries and regions that have shipping rates, and a shopper can choose a country at checkout only when it is in both an active market and a shipping zone with available rates.

1. Go to Settings > Shipping and delivery and add a shipping zone for the new countries, or add them to an existing zone.
2. Add rates you can actually deliver for.
3. Return to Markets, open the market and change its status from Draft to Active.

Shopify notes that, as of August 29, 2025, de minimis doesn't apply to shipments into the United States, so duties and import taxes apply to all US imports. If you ship to the US, confirm your carrier still does.

Show prices in local currency

When you sell in local currencies, shoppers see prices, pay at checkout and receive refunds in their own currency. To accept payments in multiple currencies you need Shopify Payments or Adyen as your payment processor, according to Shopify's Markets requirements. With another processor, shoppers in every market pay in your store's default currency.

Prices convert automatically at the current exchange rate by default. Two controls help you keep them tidy:

• Price rounding. In a market's currency settings, turn on rounding so converted prices end on the usual denomination for that currency instead of an odd number. Rounding requires Shopify Payments, and you can't change the rounding values Shopify uses.
• Catalogs. Under Markets > Catalogs you can raise or lower all prices in a market by a percentage, set a fixed price for individual products, and exclude products you can't ship there.

A worked example

Say you sell a skincare set for 40.00 USD and you are adding a Canada market. These numbers are only an example. With rounding on, the converted CAD price ends on a familiar value instead of an awkward one. If shipping to Canada costs you more, a catalog with a 10% price adjustment for the Canada market raises every price there without touching your US prices. If one fragile product can't cross the border, exclude it from that catalog so Canadian shoppers don't find a product they can't buy.

Give each market a URL and a language

A market can share your main domain or use a subfolder (yourstore.com/fr/), a subdomain or its own country domain. Shopify recommends subfolders for most stores because they are easiest to set up and share your primary domain's authority. When a market has a distinct URL and language, Shopify adds hreflang tags and canonical URLs for you. Content for markets that share a domain isn't indexed separately.

To add a language, go to Settings > Languages, click Add language, assign it to a domain, add translations and publish it. Shopify's Translate & Adapt app can translate content manually or with AI translations, and you can also import translations with CSV files. Once a language is published, checkout and email notifications appear in that language too. Untranslated content shows in your default language, so translate product pages and policies first.

Make sure shoppers land in the right market

Shopify matches shoppers to a market by their IP address, the market URL they arrive on, or a country they picked before, and uses browser language to choose the language. Check that automatic redirection is on under Online Store > Preferences, in the Automatic redirection section.

Then add a selector. Shopify's localization guide warns that IP location isn't always accurate for shoppers on VPNs, corporate networks or some mobile carriers, and without a selector a mismatched shopper has no way to switch. Most themes include a country/region selector and a language selector in the header or footer settings of the theme editor.

Also check your backup region under Settings > General. Shoppers from countries outside every active market get that region's experience: they can browse, but they can't check out.

Decide who pays duties and import taxes

International shoppers might be charged duties and import taxes on delivery. Shopify can collect an estimate at checkout instead. Set it up under Settings > Taxes and duties, in the Duties and import taxes section. Your store needs Harmonized System (HS) codes on its products, shipping carriers that support Delivered Duty Paid (DDP) labels if you buy labels in Shopify, and it can't use Shopify Fulfillment Network.

A transaction fee applies to each order with duties calculated at checkout, and Shopify lists the current rates on its duties and import taxes page. Per market, you choose whether duties show as a line item or are included in your price, and how tax is displayed. Add HS codes and a country or region of origin to every product either way: Shopify notes that a missing origin or an incorrect HS code can lead to extra charges on delivery.

Check discounts, gift cards and apps before a sale

Percentage discounts apply to the local price with no conversion. Fixed-amount discounts, free shipping minimums and gift card balances are set in your store's default currency and converted at checkout, so, for example, a 75 USD free shipping minimum becomes whatever 75 USD is worth in that shopper's currency that day. You can also assign a discount to specific markets. Shopify's page on discounts and gift cards in Markets covers each type. If your holiday offers stack, read our guide to Shopify discount combinations too.

Apps that display prices or send messages with money amounts can show the wrong values when multiple currencies are on. Shopify recommends testing them. Post-purchase offers aren't shown to shoppers in markets that use a different currency.

Translate your on-site messages too

A translated product page next to an English-only promotion feels unfinished. With Atomato on the Scale or Enterprise+ plan, you can give each NotiFeed, NotiPop, NotiSell and NotiEmail campaign its own text for every language published in Shopify. Shoppers see the version for the language they are browsing in, and your original text in any field you leave empty. The translations help article shows the steps, and pricing lists what each plan includes.

Reference TitleHoliday hours DescriptionWe ship until December 20. Orders after that go out on January 2.

French TitleHoraires des fêtes Description Generate text HTMLNous expédions jusqu’au 20 décembre. Les commandes passées ensuite partent le 2 janvier.88/200

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Common mistakes and what this won't fix

• Removing shipping rates after launch. If you take a country out of a shipping zone, its market stays active but shoppers there can't check out. Check Markets for errors after shipping changes.
• Relying on redirection alone. Without a selector, a shopper matched to the wrong country is stuck.
• Translating only the homepage. Untranslated product pages and policies show in your default language.
• Skipping HS codes. Duty estimates depend on them, and shipping labels for international orders can't be printed without them.
• Expecting per-market theme content on any plan. Different sections or banners per market need the Advanced plan or higher. On other plans, every market shares the same theme customization.

Markets won't fix slow delivery or unclear international returns, so state both plainly in your policies. Our guide to a Shopify return policy covers that side.

International selling checklist

1. Review the domestic and suggested international markets.
2. Group countries into markets you will actually customize.
3. Add shipping zones and rates for every country, then activate each market.
4. Confirm Shopify Payments or Adyen for local currency checkout, and turn on rounding if you use Shopify Payments.
5. Set catalog price adjustments or exclusions where costs or rules differ.
6. Choose subfolders or domains, add languages and translate key pages and policies.
7. Turn on automatic redirection and show country and language selectors.
8. Check your backup region.
9. Add HS codes and country of origin, then decide how duties are collected.
10. Test discounts, gift cards and apps in each currency, then place test orders from each market.

Common questions

Does Shopify Markets cost extra?

Creating regional markets is free on all Shopify plans. Some features depend on your plan, such as per-market theme customization, which needs Advanced or higher. Duty collection at checkout and currency conversion carry their own fees, which Shopify explains in its help center and Terms of Service.

Can I sell in multiple currencies without Shopify Payments?

Shopify says you need Shopify Payments or Adyen to accept payment in multiple currencies. With another processor, shoppers pay in your store's default currency.

Why can't a shopper select their country at checkout?

The country must be in an active market and in a shipping zone with available rates. Check both in your admin.

How do I preview a market before launch?

Open the market on the Markets page and use More actions > View online store to see prices in that market's currency. You can also create a market as a draft and activate it once it's ready.

Next step

Start with the one or two countries you already get interest from and work through the checklist for them. Once they are live and tested, plan Black Friday on top: our Black Friday Cyber Monday page covers the on-site side.

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