Ecommerce Business Online shopping accounted for 20.1% of global retail sales in 2024, and cross-border ecommerce continues to grow. To unlock growth opportunities and enter international markets, retail businesses need a strategy that takes advantage of the many cross-border ecommerce solutions available.
An international e-commerce strategy can help a traditional retail business leverage the power of the internet to scale beyond the limited demand of a local market. However, growing a global e-commerce business also comes with challenges, such as legal and tax compliance, location and language barriers, and processing payments in different currencies.
In this guide, we’ll explain how customized ecommerce strategies can help your business overcome these barriers and answer common questions about international trade.
What is global e-commerce?
International e-commerce companies sell products to customers in foreign markets through an online store. This online store is typically hosted on a global e-commerce platform that supports digital payment systems to accommodate buyers from multiple international markets. Modern technology and logistics have removed barriers to entry, allowing virtually any business to sell online to new markets.
With access to customers around the world, these businesses have more opportunities to grow revenue compared to brands that sell in a single country. Expanding into multiple regions also gives an e-commerce business greater stability through diversification, as sales in one area can balance out slow periods in another.
However, entering the global market requires careful planning and careful analysis. Companies competing with both local and global brands may struggle to build trust and loyalty with international customers unless they have the right strategy in place.
Building an International Ecommerce Strategy in 5 Steps
A messy launch into a new market can damage a brand’s reputation. That’s why companies must develop a comprehensive and thoughtful afghanistan whatsapp number data 5 million strategy for selling directly to international consumers (B2C) or global businesses (B2B). Here are five steps to creating a global strategy that sets your ecommerce business up for success:
1. Do market research and choose your target market
First, identify the most promising international markets for your business. Some foreign markets (e.g., Japan and China) have a higher percentage of online shoppers and are expected to grow . These countries are more likely to respond positively to new products, increasing your chances of success.
You should also look at global research what are the digital marketing trends for 2025? trends , industry reports, and market data to assess the demand for your products in these international markets. Analyze local and global companies that sell similar products. Healthy competition indicates that your products should sell in this target market.
Here are other factors to consider during market research:
Economic stability and disposable income are signs that the market has strong middle class growth, which is better for e-commerce.
Trade regulations, taxes, and import/export laws can impact your industry and your ability to maintain compliance.
Cultural preferences and purchasing habits vary by location . Research whether your products and processes meet the expectations of local buyers.
2. USE a global e-commerce platform
Your online store should support multiple languages, currencies, and payment methods. Shoppers are much less likely to purchase from a store japan data that isn’t in their preferred language and currency. In fact, 30% of international shoppers from non-English-speaking countries never purchase from English-language sites, while another 29% rarely do so.
Global businesses can avoid this issue by using a flexible ecommerce platform like Shopify, Magento, or WooCommerce that makes it easy to customize for different target markets. These ecommerce platforms often include integrations that provide automatic currency conversion, localized product descriptions, and geolocation-based pricing, helping your business gain shoppers’ trust during checkout.
Smartling offers integrations for ecommerce platforms like Shopify to help make ecommerce website translation more efficient. The Smartling Connector for Shopify allows Shopify users to easily send content like product descriptions, checkout pages, and more directly to Smartling for professional translation. This streamlined process eliminates manual steps, speeds up translations, and ensures a consistent, localized experience for global customers.
3. Simplify logistics and customer support
Logistics and customer support processes include clear shipping policies, real-time tracking, and simple return options. When these elements of the international shopping experience go smoothly, customers feel more confident in your brand.
To handle logistics, businesses can partner with international fulfillment centers and third-party logistics (3PL) providers to reduce shipping costs and delivery times. They can provide multilingual customer support through chatbots, email, and regional support teams that assist customers in different time zones. Solutions like Zendesk and Tidio provide AI-powered customer service in multiple languages, integrating directly with popular ecommerce platforms like Shopify and Woocommerce.
4. Localize your website content
Every new market entry brings different expectations, behaviors, and cultural norms. A localized ecommerce site improves trust among shoppers, enhances user experience, and increases conversions.
Content translation helps brands connect with international shoppers and boost global SEO by making product descriptions, checkout pages, and marketing materials clear and culturally relevant. While many ecommerce platforms provide simple machine translation, you’ll need a more nuanced approach to sound authentic to consumers.
Smartling’s translation services range from AI tools to professional translators, so you can find the website translation approach that works for your business and budget. With Smartling’s solutions, your brand can increase its global impact and connect with buyers in their native language.
5. Use technology and data to optimize marketing campaigns
Selling in international markets requires more than a localized online store. You need tools to track marketing performance and inform decision-making. AI-powered tools, analytics, and customer relationship management (CRM) software help businesses understand buyer behavior and improve marketing results.
For example, Google Analytics tracks where visitors come from, what products they’re interested in, and how they navigate a website. This data helps businesses adjust their marketing and website layout to keep shoppers engaged.
Frequently asked questions
How big is the global e-commerce market?
The global e-commerce market is huge and ever-expanding. It is expected to reach $6.8 trillion by 2028, with billions of shoppers shopping online. This growth is primarily driven by the rise of e-commerce platforms, mobile shopping, and the expansion of international economies.
Is multi-store functionality important when selling internationally?
Multi-storefront functionality is vital for selling into new markets. Businesses can create different versions of their ecommerce store tailored to specific target markets, each with distinct languages, currencies, and seasonal sales. This improves the checkout process and makes the shopping experience feel more familiar to local shoppers, increasing trust and sales.
What are the 4 big e-commerce countries?
The four leading countries in e-commerce are:
China: The world’s largest e-commerce market, with platforms like Alibaba and JD.com.
United States: A big player, with Amazon, Walmart and eBay driving online sales.
United Kingdom: Hosts a strong online shopping culture with high consumer spending.
Japan: A fast-growing e-