Selling internationally is an effective way to develop your business, increase sales, and expand your brand's global reach when using Shopify Plus. However, many businesses make the mistake of rushing into international e-commerce without first developing a solid foreign sales plan by comparing couriers, targeting customers on a local level, local tax regulations, and other factors that may apply to individual countries. Here are a few things that can help you scale the hurdle of international sales:

1. Target customers at the local level

You can substantially increase your chances of attracting international shoppers when you target them with familiar advertising from language, to local cultural content, including the adoption of country-specific storefronts. Below are some easy ways to accomplish this:

• Your paid advertising channels should be redirected to each country's specific store. This means that your Google Ads and Facebook Ads campaigns should be redirected to drive international shoppers to the country's unique store version. This implies that customers may explore products and pay in their own currency, improving the likelihood of making a purchase.

• Create localized versions of your e-commerce site. Localized websites can help potential customers feel more connected to your e-commerce store based on their region.

• To properly indicate country-specific pages, online merchants should endeavor to utilize separate URLs for different versions of their store, as well as hreflang annotations and sitemaps.

• To target worldwide customers, language localization has proven to be very useful. If you're a Shopify Plus merchant, ensure that your store's visitors have access to a variety of languages.

2. Accept payment in their local currencies

If you're using Shopify Plus, you're already eligible for the multi-currency features Plus comes with, so ensure that your store accepts payments in their local currencies if it is listed.

By forcing customers to pay in a currency they are unfamiliar with, you may make them uneasy, especially with those international transactions that involve import taxes and levies.

On the other hand, by simply accepting payments in their local currencies, you can go a long way to build a sense of security and reassurance for foreign customers. More significantly, it's a proven strategy to increase sales. Luckily,  Shopify payments have made this available for Shopify Plus merchants to make transactions safe and simple.

3. Global Tracking

Gaining client trust is crucial when it comes to logistics, especially when you're selling across countries. There is a greater danger of delays and even damage to your shipments particularly because your products are being transported internationally. This can induce buyer anxiety, which is understandable.

Offering international parcel tracking, on the other hand, might give your consumers peace of mind and help you earn their trust.

You can successfully track shipments internationally and convey the information to your consumers with tracking service apps, giving them a sense of trust and security while their goods cross country borders.

4. Cut shipping costs by using several couriers

International shipping is generally more expensive than domestic shipping as it entails additional paper works, levies, negotiating import taxes, and other costs.

Thankfully, there are other options where you can always employ various carriers to locate and leverage the finest shipping solutions available to decrease shipping expenses and better safeguard your profits.

Transparency with taxes and levies at checkout is also crucial since they can eat into your profits and make international transactions more difficult for you and your customers.

Also, courier delivery costs might vary considerably depending on the following factors:

• delivery speed

• the tax and import duties of the country of destination

• product or order size and weight

However, by simply comparing providers to evaluate which courier offers the best price for international delivery, you can reduce shipping expenses and increase profit margins in a simple and practical manner.

5. Convert first-time customers to returning customers using Chargezen

Merchants understand the frustration that comes with losing a one-time customer after working so hard to attract them in the first place. This is a common situation, and sometimes it seems like there’s no good way around it. Despite their best efforts to keep customers engaged and increase their lifetime value, they sometimes lose touch with them along the way.

One of the most sustainable approaches to convert one-time customers to returning customers is to give them the option to subscribe to your product or service. This explains why the adoption of the subscription business model has grown popular in recent years and businesses selling subscription has witnessed an average of 100% growth year in year out over the last five years.

Chargezen is the most advanced vertically integrated cloud-based platform for managing subscriptions enabling thousands of successful brands to sell recurring products, build custom subscription boxes, gain insights into their data; and more to create an incredible subscription experience for their customers! The best part is that this subscription management app is available for categories of merchants including Shopify Plus merchants.

Final thoughts

Even for seasoned organizations with significant resources, selling internationally can appear complex and scary.

However, you can make your e-commerce business scale globally by developing a cross-border e-commerce strategy that targets customers at the local level, accept payments in their local currencies, offers global tracking, and use Chargzen to convert one-time customers to returning customers.

By focusing on these strategies, your company will appeal to local customers while increasing store profitability through increased sales and decreased delivery costs. After all, in the competitive world of international sales, that is the key to success.