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Modern consumers are taking their spending power overseas. It may come as a surprise to know that 57% of shoppers make purchases from international retailers on the Shopify platform. Furthermore, in 2020, the value of cross-border eCommerce sales was projected to reach a massive $1 trillion, with 67% of global consumers contributing 10% of their online spending to purchases from abroad.
Consumers from countries around the world are directing their spending overseas. (Source: Practical Ecommerce)
This presents an interesting opportunity for eCommerce merchants as the pool of customers at their disposal increases. However, preparing your online store for an international consumer base can be a challenge as it requires a number of capabilities to sell globally effectively.
Shipping and fulfillment need to be optimized to ensure customers receive their orders quickly and at a low cost. Plus, your inventories need to be synchronized so you avoid overselling. You also need to consider duty and taxes in order to stay compliant with varying export regulations. Additionally, to make the shopping process more comfortable and familiar for foreign visitors, presenting your store in their home language alongside products in their local currency is crucial.
This may sound a little overwhelming, but there’s no need to worry as we will take you through a selection of the best Shopify apps for international eCommerce success.
Top Apps for Global Selling on Shopify
Shipping and Fulfillment Apps
Shipping is a major concern for consumers globally, particularly when it comes to the cost of delivery and the estimated time of arrival of their order. According to Statista, 41% of global shoppers will abandon their cart if shipping is too expensive, and 26% of them will not complete their purchase if the delivery time is too long.
You definitely don’t want to miss out on such a big chunk of potential sales solely for those reasons. Fortunately, there are a few apps on Shopify that will help you make the right call to optimize shipping for your customers, no matter where they are in the world.
AfterShip
Rating: 4.7 stars
Price: Free plan available. Paid plans start at $11/month with a 7-day free trial.
AfterShip can help you choose the most appropriate couriers for your overseas customers as they provide access to over 700 shipping services worldwide. Making the right decision becomes easy thanks to its analytics feature which lets you monitor each courier's performance. Together, this will give your store a much better chance at addressing the shipping concerns faced by customers.
Your cross-border shoppers will be kept up to date on the status of their delivery via emails and/or SMS messages. These notifications can also be set to match the language of your customer. Moreover, your store’s brand identity can be upheld with customizable branded tracking pages and emails.
This is a great app no matter the size of your business. The free plan is suitable for merchants who do not expect to get high numbers of monthly orders but still wish to have access to most of the aforementioned features. Shipments are capped at 50 a month. Notifications are not available on this plan, but customers will have access to a branded tracking page where they can monitor their orders. Analytics are also not available on this plan.
Pro plan subscribers can adorn their tracking pages with promotions, social feeds, and recommendations. Analytics showing the efficacy of these marketing assets can also be viewed. (Source: AfterShip)
The main differences between the paid plans are the number of shipments, ranging from 100 to 200 per month. The Pro plan brings additional functions to your tracking pages which can help you boost sales. This includes the display of product recommendations, promotions, and social media feeds. Multilingual tracking pages are also only available for paying users .
If you would like a solution for international returns, you can install AfterShip Returns.
B2B/Wholesale Solution
Rating: 4.9
Price: Free plan available. Start at $25/month with a 14-day free trial.
(Source: B2B/Wholesale Solution)
B2B/Wholesale Solution is an all-in-one B2B/Wholesale app for Shopify merchants, developed by BSS Commerce.
Some highlight features that store owners would be definitely interested in:
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Full B2B Price Customization: Allow you to set up special pricing for specific items/collections and consumers, or even provide multiple prices for the same products. Also, you can apply a special pricing to certain products or reduce their original prices by a predetermined amount or percentage.
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B2B Sign Up, Tags and Tax Control: To manage B2B customer registration, online merchants can add custom fields, tag the order/customer based on events, and even set VAT Exempt Rules as well as Tax Display. Based on events, tag the order/customer.
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Order Limit and Multi-currency: B2B/ Wholesale Solution also allows merchants to customize the min and maximum order amount/ quantity and change the currency based on the user's region. This is extremely helpful for merchants to establish a B2B discount code, and add custom fields to the Order/ Draft Order.
Shippo
Rating: 4.1 stars
Price: Free plan available. Paid plan starts at $10/month with a 30-day free trial
Shippo is the most ideal plan for merchants that are prioritizing value for money.
Shopify merchants have access to great discounts from different shippers. (Source: Shippo)
The free plan suits e-merchants who are looking for a quick and simple solution to start shipping internationally with zero commitments. With it, you will have access to over 55 global couriers including major discounts for USPS, UPS, and DHL Express, as well as other international carriers. The prices of all couriers can be compared within the app so you can pass on the best savings to your customers. Consumers can also see real-time tracking information via Shopify.
On the free plan, Shippo only charges users who do not use one of their default carriers. If you use your own courier, you’ll pay 5 cents per label printed. You can also print return labels for free, they are only paid for if used by the customer.
High-volume shippers that need some automated processes will love to go with a paid plan. Auto-generated customs forms and commercial invoices are some of the useful features paying Shippo users can enjoy. The label printing process is also easier as package information can be saved and pre-filled for future use.
Managing inventory across different stores and fulfillment channels can also be a difficult task. Here are a couple of apps that will help you better keep track of your inventory.
Stock Sync
Rating: 4.7 stars
Price: Free plan available. Paid plans start at $5/month with a 14-day free trial
This is one of the top-rated inventory management apps used by thousands of stores on Shopify. Stock Sync works great for international stores with regional suppliers or warehouses. It allows users to manage multiple feeds in one place as well as automatically update inventories connected via the app. These features will help you to better keep track of inventory allowing you to re-stock when necessary.
Shopify merchants can also gain a lot more control over the products displayed in different stores. For instance, you are able to include or exclude specific products from feeds, alter prices with pricing rules, and update over 20 product fields. Growing businesses that are preparing to sell globally will find this app useful as it can be applied to empty stores, ready to go into action once you are.
The number of SKUs, frequency of inventory updates, and the number of supplier feeds are determined by the plan you choose. Stock Sync is a great choice for SMBs and dropshippers thanks to its pocket-friendly price point and a high number of integrations available.
Inventory Planner Forecasting
Rating: 4.7 stars
Price: Starts at $99.99/month with a 14-day free trial. Additional SKUs and warehouses can be added at an extra cost
Understanding how your inventory varies throughout the year is crucial in assisting you to predict how much inventory you will need at different times. A forecasting app like Inventory Planner Forecasting can help you optimize the re-stocking of products so you don’t over-sell or over-stock.
Keep tabs on all of your regional warehouses’ inventory. (Source: Inventory Planner)
Merchants can connect multiple stores to the planner, and choose to either view separate or aggregated information. The app analyzes sales trends and vendor lead times to give you data-driven knowledge of when to replenish items. E-merchants can also customize forecasting to take into account seasonal promotions like BFCM and seasonal items for increased accuracy.
Making the right business decisions with Inventory Planner Forecasting is spearheaded. It allows setting purchasing budgets, comparing suppliers, and identifying overstock. Hence, you’ll be able to make effective inventory investments. Additionally, there’s no need to continuously check the app in order to be kept up-to-date with your inventory as you can be alerted by email according to your own low stock levels.
Creating purchase orders is also a breeze as this can be done directly within the app. The high price point and advanced features make it most suitable for enterprise-level businesses.
Duty, Taxes and Invoicing Apps
Charging and paying the right tax in your foreign operations is crucial to ensure you are abiding by each market’s regulations, and building trust with your customers. With the help of a taxes and invoicing app, and tax apps like Xero, Quickbooks, etc, you can easily calculate taxes, provide tax exemptions, and lighten the burden of creating accurate invoices.
Fordeer: Invoice Order Printer
Rating: 5.0 stars
Pricing plans: Free plan available. Paid plans start at $12.99/month with a 14-day free trial
Fordeer: Invoice Order Printer is an essential app for any Shopify store looking to increase global sales. Our app helps streamline your order fulfillment process, making getting your products to customers worldwide easier and faster. With customizable templates, batch printing, and automatic order status updates, Fordeer makes it easy to stay organized, save time, and improve efficiency.
One of the biggest challenges of selling globally is managing orders from multiple countries and time zones. With Fordeer, you can easily print invoices, packing slips, refunds, etc., for all your Shopify orders, regardless of where they're coming from. This saves you time and reduces errors, so you can focus on growing your business and reaching more customers.
Another critical feature of Fordeer is its ability to customize templates to fit your brand. With Fordeer, you can easily create templates that reflect your brand's unique style and message, giving your customers a memorable and positive experience. This is important when selling globally, as it allows you to provide customers with consistent and professional knowledge, no matter where they are.
Finally, Fordeer's batch printing and automatic order status updates make it easy to manage large orders, no matter where they're coming from. This is particularly important when selling globally, as you must efficiently manage and fulfill orders from various countries and time zones. With Fordeer, you can print multiple invoices, packing slips, and shipping labels simultaneously, saving time and reducing errors. Plus, automatic order status updates keep you and your customers informed throughout the fulfillment process, so you can ensure that orders are delivered on time and with the highest level of customer service.
Try Fordeer for FREE today and see how it can help you increase your global sales and grow your Shopify store! If you want to take advantage of a full range of advanced features, you can use the discount code FORDEER50 at the checkout to get 50% off any paid plans.
Invoice Falcon
Rating: 4.9 stars
Price: Free plan available or $15/month with a 7-day free trial
Invoice Falcon is a great app that helps SMB e-merchants effortlessly make tax-compliant invoices for global purchases.
The standout feature of this app is that on both the free and paid plans you can generate invoices that reflect your brand’s identity with the addition of logos, colors, personalized messages, and social media links.
In addition to the app automatically formulating internationally tax-compliant invoices, users of the app can also send invoices in multiple languages and currencies instantly upon order. Commercial invoices with proof of origin can be sent from the app for export purposes, helping to get orders to your customers with as little friction as possible.
You can set up invoices for your business customers too as the app lets you capture and validate VAT/ GST/ GSTIN/ ABN/ TRN or set up tax-exempt invoices.
Zonos Duty and Tax
Rating: 4.1 stars
Price: $99/month with a 14-day free trial
Zonos Duty & Tax improves customer trust and facilitates transparency as it will display the total landed cost of international orders at checkout. This is an excellent feature as it means that there will be no surprises once the goods are delivered. The app can integrate with your shipping couriers, meaning that shoppers will get a complete picture of all costs before they hit the order button.
Shoppers are also able to pay the duty and taxes in advance which will help you get your products to them faster and reduce refused packages.
For carriers that do not support the prepayment of duty and tax, an estimate is shown at checkout informing the customer that it will be collected on delivery. (Source: Zonos Duty & Taxes)
As Zonos Duty & Taxes requires the Shopify CarrierService API for it to work, this option is best suited for enterprise businesses on Shopify Advanced or Shopify Plus.
Multi-Currency Apps
Did you know that you can reduce cart abandonment by up to 50%, and increase conversions by up to 40% with the inclusion of global currencies? Let’s take a look at some great currency convertors for your Shopify store.
MLV Auto Currency Switcher
Rating: 4.8 stars
Price: Free plan available or $9.95/month with a 15-day free trial
This price-friendly app is an excellent option for enterprise-level companies that have a high number of regions that they would like to enter and wish to have greater control over the display of currencies.
MLV Auto Currency Switcher allows Shopify merchants to choose from over 200 currencies, ten times more than what Shopify Markets offers. It uses live rates from Shopify’s XE API so prices on your regional stores are always up-to-date. No matter which of the plans you choose, you can have complete control over the look and feel of the convertor. The paid plan comes with the added benefits of rounded prices, and country flags display.
The app integrates with Shopify Payments. This means prices will be converted not just on your stores but also on checkout pages allowing for orders to be processed in the customer’s desired currency. If you go with the paid plan, the IP addresses of visitors to your store are also detected so that the right currency is shown as soon as they land in the store. Both plans come with the ability to remember shoppers’ preferred currency when selected via the dropdown menu.
BEST Currency Converter
Rating: 4.7 stars
Price: Free plan available or $9.95/month with a 30-day free trial
If you are an SMB with a handful of international markets you’re aiming to break into, BEST Currency Converter is the right choice for you.
The free plan gives you access to over 160 currencies, including Bitcoin, from which you can add up to five on your store. The paid plan, however, lets you add as many currencies as you desire. The other additional features on the paid plan are geo-location to detect and instantly show the customer’s local currency, and a currency conversion notification at checkout as the app is not compatible with Shopify Payments.
On both plans, e-merchants can choose from three designs for currency selection including the visually pleasing flag theme, and prices are automatically rounded for a more readable, user-friendly experience.
Find out more: A Comparison of the Top Shopify Multi-Currency Apps
Multi-Language Apps
Language can be a massive barrier for cross-border purchasers, particularly non-English speaking ones. In fact, 87% of non-English speakers wouldn’t even consider making purchases from a site that is in English only. This is quite a sizable chunk, so consider using one of these apps to lift global sales.
Weglot
Rating: 4.7 stars
Price: Free for up to 2000 translated words in 1 language, paid plans starting at €9.90/month for 10,000 in 1 language to €199/month for 1 million words in up to 10 languages. Also has an enterprise service starting at €499/month.
This tried and tested app has the potential to be a great addition to your international stores.
Weglot is enjoyed by thousands of global brands and has a proven track record of boosting sales and traffic. Eyewear brand, Jimmy Fairly, experienced a 6x higher international conversion rate and had 70% more website visits after installing this app. It was a similar story for Ron Dorff with a 70% increase in global sales and 400% more traffic.
Weglot provides over 100 languages for your Shopify store to be automatically translated to. The app can detect and translate almost all parts of your store including checkout, email notifications, third-party apps, images, and dynamic content. Should you wish to make edits, collaborate with team members, or even hire a professional translator, all of this can be done via the Weglot dashboard.
You may be wondering how brands using the app were able to drive so much more traffic to their store. Weglot uses Google’s multi-language best practices and provides language-specific subdomains resulting in a huge boost for international SEO.
The app also remembers each visitor’s preferred language so they can instantly be directed to the correct store.
LangShop
Rating: 4.9 stars
Price: Free plan available. Paid plans are $34/month and $68/month with a 14-day free trial
LangShop supplies Shopify merchants with 241 languages to choose from, of which 1 to 20 can be added to stores depending on the plan chosen.
The app can translate the most pertinent parts of your store including checkout, email notifications, products, and dynamic content. Additionally, you can add different images on every translated version of your store so that it resonates more with native customers. What’s great about this app is the unlimited number of words that can be translated no matter the plan you are on.
Checkout translation is a sure-fire way to reduce cart abandonment. (Source: LangShop)
On the paid plans, LangShop integrates with Google and DeepL pro translation drivers enabling accurate translation with fewer grammatical and spelling errors. You can order a professional translator to edit your content right within the app or make manual changes yourself to drive accuracy even further.
Multilingual SEO is also optimized thanks to unique URLs for each language, meta tags and desc tags translation, and multi-language hreflang links. Furthermore, with its adherence to Google’s best practices for international SEO, you can be sure that your global traffic will soar.
It’s a great time to go for one of the paid plans as you can get 30% off as part of their Black Friday deal.
Take a look at more multi-language apps: A Comparison of the Top Shopify Multi Language Apps
It’s Time To Make Your Business Global
To get your Shopify store ready for international success, you need to equip it with multiple functions. Fortunately, there are many apps available on Shopify that will go a long way in getting your store in top shape for cross-border shoppers.
No matter whether you’re a small or medium business wanting to dip your toes in international waters, or a large enterprise requiring robust capabilities, you can achieve global success with our recommendations.
