Suppose you're planning to up a brand new Shopify store and are ready to sell your products to a broader audience. However, you run into the first roadblock for this e-commerce business setup: do you make one Shopify portal for all countries and accept multiple currencies, or do you build a different store for each country you're building a presence?
Technically, you could do either. However, there are advantages and disadvantages to each approach. Here are some things to consider when you're making a Shopify store for international customers.
One Shopify store with a multiple currencies toggle
By default, your Shopify subscription allows you to offer multiple currencies as options for payment. When you turn this on, your store will show the item price in the website visitor's local currency. You can enable Shopify to make the conversion or you can specify a rate in your file.
To turn on this option, proceed to Settings. Then, navigate to Payments > Shopify Payments > Manage > Currencies. When you want to offer multiple currencies, you need to enable a currency selector. Choose the currencies you want to accept and save your preferences. You can also enable rounding in the Advanced or Pro subscription levels.
Why should you choose this option?
Setting up your store this way lets you pair one website with one Shopify store. This means you don't need to publish a website for every store you put up. There is no need to manage a collection of websites with .com, .au, .ca, .nz, and more, which can be a hassle to maintain.
One disadvantage to this scheme is that if you are in certain countries, you can only nominate one payout currency. For instance, Australia-based stores can only select AUD. For orders checked out with a non-AUD default currency, you have to pay for a higher credit card fee. Aside from this, you would have to pay for currency conversion, meaning each order would get a two to three per cent increase in prices. Consult a Shopify accountant to see if this would be the best option for your business.
Multiple Shopify files for different currencies
Hosting more than one website is possible if you have more than one Shopify file. For the most part, search engine browsers direct your customers to the proper geographic location; Canadians get the .ca domain, Australians get .com.au, and so on.
However, if your customer lands on a site that uses a different currency than the one their using, they will get the checkout currency of the domain. For example, if an American finds themself on the .com.au page, they might get prices in AUD. In recent years, developers have come up with workarounds that detect locations of the visitors IP addresses.
Why should you choose this option?
The biggest draw for this option is that it helps you save on credit card fees. When you pair an e-commerce store to the correct payout currency, you sidestep the surcharges that a single-store approach incurs. Individual languages can also provide content in the local language, which further customises the shopping experience.
The downside to this is having to manage multiple Shopify subscriptions and websites, which could be too much if you do not have a dedicated team handling customer fulfilment. Again, getting the opinion of an e-commerce accountant will help you decide if this is right for your company.
Conclusion
All businesses want to expand into new markets. For some companies that are the right size, expansion could mean tapping into overseas audiences. Make sure you're doing the right steps in setting up your international e-commerce store, so you don't create inconveniences for yourself down the road.
Consult an accountant who specialises in supporting e-commerce stores as they put up their business online. The E-Commerce Accountant helps Gold Coast stores thrive by providing e-commerce accounting services. Whether you're a dropshipper, a retailer, or an influencer, we can help you get your store up and running in no time! Contact us today to book a free consult.
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