With global ecommerce sales expected to exceed USD $4.3 trillion this year, tapping into international markets can be a lucrative move for Australian retailers to consider.
Cross-border selling offers retailers the opportunity to innovate and capture new market share. It also acts as a buffer against local economic uncertainty and helps mitigate the impact of seasonal demand fluctuations.
For example, first-party data from Shopify found that in April 2025, camping-related products saw a decline in purchases, likely due to the onset of cooler temperatures. To tackle this, outdoor and adventure retailers in Australia could look to target customers in the northern hemisphere, where warmer weather could boost demand.
But while embracing cross-border selling enables merchants to access new customers, mitigate risk and drive business growth, it’s not without its challenges. Navigating the complexities of operating in multiple markets – be it ensuring compliance, handling multiple currencies or streamlining cross-border fulfilment – can seem like a mammoth task to take on. But with the right tools and preparation, retailers of all sizes can streamline their operations and scale globally with ease.
Reduce the operational burden of managing multiple stores
A popular choice for retailers looking to expand into new markets is setting up multiple online stores and entities tailored to different regions. However, this often introduces significant operational complexity, with merchants facing long integration times, repetitive processes and the need to split or sync inventory between stores. Ensuring product information and content are constantly tailored to each market can also be time-consuming.
Retailers should prioritise a unified commerce platform that empowers them to create localised storefronts with the convenience of a streamlined, centralised backend. For instance, merchants have the option to create expansion stores on Shopify that display content in different languages, set prices in the relevant currency and offer local shipping options and rates. This model has been beneficial for merchants like oral care brand Hismile, which saw online sales increase by 500% after implementing expansion stores—and without the need to grow their developer team.
Cost optimisation is another benefit of investing in platforms that allow retailers to operate globally from a single hub. When merchants manage separate business entities, they can quickly accumulate costs from operational and admin overhead, integrations, ongoing maintenance and foreign exchange fees, all of which puts pressure on margins.
Multi-entity management tools help alleviate this pressure by consolidating operations into one system. Streamlining operations frees up retailers’ time, which can then be reinvested into high-value initiatives, like product development and building engaging customer experiences.
Boost conversion by localising payments and pricing
Providing seamless and localised payment options isn’t always a straightforward process, but is key to converting international customers. Handling foreign currencies and cross-border transaction fees can pose hurdles to merchants when entering new markets. Businesses also need to adapt to different payment preferences while ensuring they have the technology to facilitate secure transactions.
Retailers should ensure they offer a variety of secure payment methods relevant to the local country. Payment solutions, such as Multi-Currency Payouts from Shopify Payments, can address some of the common challenges experienced by merchants through minimising foreign exchange fees, enabling merchants to accept and settle in multiple currencies and simplifying payments to suppliers.
It is also important for retailers to consider the relevant duties and taxes that come with selling in a different market and the impact this could have on pricing. Staying informed about rapidly changing trade policies and tariffs is essential.
Retailers might decide to leave the responsibility of paying import fees to customers, or provide a duties calculator at checkout. Ultimately, ensuring any additional cost is transparently communicated at checkout is vital to winning customer confidence.
Optimise fulfilment for cross-border growth
Lastly, when it comes to cross-border selling, getting shipping right is one of the most important parts of the puzzle. International shipping comes with a range of complexities, from customs regulations, import restrictions to varying shipping costs and longer delivery times. Retailers also need to navigate potential difficulties with tracking, warranty claims, and returns, all of which can impact customer satisfaction.
A major consideration for businesses is understanding and adhering to international import restrictions, as products prohibited in certain countries may be returned at the border, causing delays and added costs.
Ultimately, it’s important to conduct thorough research before entering new regions. Technology can also play an important role in streamlining fulfillment. Tools like Shopify Shipping enable businesses to access pre-negotiated low rates with global carriers, ship from up to 1,000 fulfilment locations, easily display different shipping options at checkout, and track the status of all orders in one place.
Leveraging time-saving features like bulk printing of labels and packing slips and address validation can also help simplify backend operations—ensuring a better customer experience overall.
At a time when global ecommerce sales are on an upward trajectory, cross-border selling offers retailers the opportunity to reach new customers, reduce reliance on one market, overcome demand fluctuations and increase revenue. By being prepared and utilising the right tools, retailers can confidently scale beyond borders.
Shaun Broughton is managing director for Asia Pacific & Japan at Shopify.