Going global sounds like the kind of thing only giant corporations brag about, right? Sure, small businesses could technically do it too, like if they have a Shopify account and they allow for certain countries (or all), then it’s easy, right? But at the same time, for a lot of businesses, though, it’s like some huge brand with offices everywhere, random billboards in airports, and customer service that never sleeps. Like Hermes or whatever else, they’re the ones that are building trust and loyalty, they’re the ones with successful ecommerce businesses, while the little guy stays within their country.
But honestly, loads of small businesses sell across borders now, and customers hardly notice a difference. People in France order from a shop in London without skipping a beat. Someone in Canada finds something online and just assumes they can buy it, like it’s no big deal. Yeah, shoppers expect everything to feel local, even when it’s being shipped across an ocean. Again, it’s as easy as just having the checkout page allow for international orders.
Now, needless to say, that’s fantastic for growth, although it comes with a few “fun” problems. Basically, there’s a difference between allowing orders and the orders that actually happened. Because then you have to deal with currencies, shipping, and payment methods nobody outside one country understands. Plus, there’s the import fees that scare buyers away. Language confusion that makes people wonder what they’re actually purchasing. Basically, there are lots of tiny nightmares hiding behind every “Add to Cart” button.
But what can the little guy do, though? It might be easy to offer international selling and shipping, but it’s managing that whole other can of worms. What can you do about it all?
Shipping calculators
Seriously, this one needs to be the first one; it’s finally becoming the standard, something you and the customer both need to know. But you better believe that nothing makes a customer close a browser quicker than seeing a shipping price that nearly doubles the order total. So, what’s the problem here? Well, it’s not always accurate, but besides, shoppers want transparency. They need to know what this is going to cost them before they emotionally commit to the item in their basket.
So that’s exactly why there needs to be shipping calculators on your website. They grab info like location, weight, and delivery speed, and show customers the shipping cost early. It feels honest. It feels normal. And it stops that awkward moment when someone’s eyes bug out at checkout, and they nope out instantly (and no abandon cart email will make them come back either).
Besides, it’s pretty easy to add the shipping calculator (sometimes it’s automatically there, sometimes you just need to add a widget or plugin). Plus, it builds trust. No guessing. No secret add-ons. Just straightforward. That’s it, that’s what the customers need here.
The money on your end shouldn’t be challenging
Taking money from all around the world can turn into a huge financial headache. And honestly, it quite literally is a headache, plus you’ve got the fees, conversion rates (and some companies intentionally screw it so you get less money and they pocket more of it), delays are a big one, for whatever reason you can count on unexplained deductions too. Cash flow shouldn’t be a headache; it shouldn’t be aggravating, but the second more than one currency gets involved, somehow, it all does.
So, what are the backend tools that you’re using? Are any of them helping at all? For example, using a multi currency business account gives a brand the chance to hold different currencies in one place and keep financial issues from ruining the global fun. But of course, just be careful and be selective with the one you’re using and make sure the currency conversion is correct (and the timing too). Plus, you should be the one in the first place having control over how the money moves anyway.
The currency shouldn’t feel foreign
Not everyone is going to know or understand the exchange rate. Besides, buying something in a different currency always comes with that quick moment of panic. Is it expensive? Is it cheap? Is this going to get weird on the bank statement? People love knowing exactly what they’re spending in the numbers they’re used to seeing daily. It’s easier than ever to make currencies be in the local currency of the shopper; it might be widget/ plugin tweaks on your website at most, but a lot of business owners still skip it (sometimes it’s as simple as a checkmark in a box to turn this setting on).
It needs to be localised checkout
Getting to checkout should be easy. Like, ridiculously easy. A customer shouldn’t have to sign up for ten weird payment apps or find a calculator to cover conversion. Actually, good luck getting any of them to do that in the first place. They want to pay; however, they normally pay. Be it their credit card, or Apple Pay, Klarna, iDEAL, or PayPal, all those regionally famous options. And of course, some countries have other payment methods, like not all countries use iDEAL, for example. China uses WeChat, Poland has a few options that they use, but overall, you get the idea here.
If a Dutch customer shops at a UK store and sees payment methods they don’t use, that sale’s gone. If someone in Japan can’t pay how they usually do, they’re out. That’s why just offering local payment options removes friction. And friction’s the enemy of every business hoping for that final “Place Order” click.
Don’t forget the language
It’s so easy, literally, all you have to do if you have a Shopify or WooCommerce/ Wordpress website website would be to just download one of those plugins that instantly translates the site. Sometimes, depending on the country, it’ll do it automatically. Some customers might prefer English, some might prefer their native language; you don’t know, everyone is different. But offering other languages (and again just using a plugin) can instantly solve that for you.
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