If you’re looking to develop your ecommerce business, expanding beyond your country’s borders could be a great next step. But that also means you require to figure out how to ship internationally, which is often easier said than done.

To do ecommerce international shipping correct, you’ll require a shipping way that works for you and your business. You don’t have to recognize everything about  shipping and fulfillment, but you do have to comprehend the available options and their costs—and discover an way that will fulfill your shipping needs long term.

Here’s what you require to recognize about international ecommerce shipping.

What is international shipping?

International shipping is the transport of goods across foreign borders. It plays a pivotal role in connecting global economies and facilitating sales to customers outside the country where you operate your business. International shipping has key differences from domestic shipping, mainly regarding costs and documentation.

International shipping is typically more expensive than domestic shipping, as the package has a longer distance to trip. It often includes multiple modes of transport spanning air, land, and sea. Additionally, international shipping often requires import taxes and duties owed to the goal country. 

Regarding documentation, international shipments require customs forms, but domestic shipments don’t. Ecommerce international shipping also typically takes longer than domestic shipments.

Why international shipping matters

Selling beyond your borders can be an significant growth area for your business, even if you only ship some products internationally, so it’s worth tackling the logistics head-on. Consider these figures:

• According to Oberlo, there are 2.71 billion online shoppers around the globe.
• Statista reports that retail ecommerce sales hit $5.8 trillion in 2023.
• Statista research also finds the average order worth of an international sale is $121, which is $9 more than the average domestic sale.

These figures display that online shoppers around the globe have arrive to expect international shipping, and ecommerce businesses are increasingly conference that expectation. Shipping internationally creates an chance for stores like yours to sell to a larger spectators.

How to construct an international shipping way

While it’s challenging to make a definitive list of best practices for every business, there are a few central decisions you’ll require to consider for your ecommerce international shipping way.

Determine where and what you’ll ship

You’ll first require to identify which countries and regions you’ll ship to and which products you’ll ship.

Unsure which markets you should expand to first? Here are a few indicators that can assist narrow it down.

• commence tiny and close: By keeping the final goal of your shipments close to home—declare, Mexico for a San Diego-based business—you can set realistic recipient expectations regarding delivery timelines and rates. Starting tiny and close also allows you to get a feel for what it takes to expand your shipments.
• Track current demand: Check out your shop’s traffic analytics and view which markets or countries visit your online store. You can also gauge profit by direct customer requests to sell to their trade. Repeat visits or high traffic could display profit in your products or offerings.
• Consider the languages of any trade for expansion: Communication is essential when working with customers. If you’re fluent in a few languages, consider expanding into the countries that talk those languages first. If you only talk one language, discover other countries or markets where that language is prominent.
• Ensure there’s a product-trade fit for your target country: Are there markets around the globe that you feel suit your business better than others? Some research may be required here. Checking into ecommerce penetration could be a excellent first step (explore that data here). Dig into the customer trends and tastes of those markets. An item that’s a celebratory gift in the US may cruel something different in South Korea, for example.

Next, you’ll require to consider what to ship. You may desire to propose your entire product line, but that won’t always be feasible. Before you commence delivering all over the globe, ponder about these aspects of your products and your business.

• Building on the points above, are there items that would appeal to the international trade(s) you’re looking to ship to?
• Lightweight and smaller items will be easier to package and more expense-effective to ship.
• The more durable the packaging, the better. Shipping fragile products that can be damaged in transit if not packaged properly may boost the chances of a less-than-satisfactory delivery. If you decide to ship them, invest in sturdy product packaging.

Get familiar with country rules and regulations

Once you have an concept of which regions propose the most immediate opportunities and which products you’ll be sending, it’s period to check into country-based rules and regulations.

Some countries prohibit sure goods outright, while others may limit them. Being informed of the rules and regulations that exist and which may impact your shipments can assist ensure a smooth delivery.

There are a few ways you can access this information:

• UPS has a tool that shows country-specific rules and regulations by origin and goal countries.
• view if your products can be imported into a given goal country. For example, a shipment of artwork from the US to Saudi Arabia is prohibited.
• Check and view if any of your products or components are listed as “risky goods” while being shipped. A risky excellent is defined as a product that may factor damage during transit. The best place for this info would be a country’s government website. Canada and the UK provide great examples.
• When in question, contact the local import or customs office at your prospective goal for additional information about shipping your products.

Be transparent about fees

This might be the most significant part of any ecommerce international shipping way: be as transparent and communicative as feasible with your customers about delivery costs. Don’t shock your customers with an unexpected total expense at checkout.

According to the Baymard Institute, nearly 50% of the cart abandonment they surveyed on ecommerce sites in 2024 was due, in part, to extra shipping fees and costs.

Shopify’s own research studies how customer depend develops during the purchase trip of shoppers who buy from a recent online store. When shipping internationally, a shipping policy that clearly states who pays duties and taxes is a must-have to construct depend and triumph a sale with a recent shopper.

One place you can communicate these costs is on your policy pages. Clearly lay out how and where you ship products internationally, and what costs may be associated.

You can also add flags to your top navigation to display your shipping availability. Letting your customers recognize where you deliver to doesn’t have to be just about costs. A tool like the Shipping & Promo Bar can assist you promote your shipping and rates to a global spectators.

It’s best to use all options available to communicate shipping costs—or potential costs—to a customer, whether it’s on your homepage, product page, or policy page. It’ll set expectations for you both, which can assist provide the customer added confidence to complete their purchase.

How to compute international shipping costs

There are five key components for determining the costs of international delivery. All five contribute to how effectively you’ll ship around the globe.

1. Packaging
2. expense of shipping
3. Handling charges
4. Duties and taxes
5. profits margins

1. Packaging

Before you ship anything, you’ll require packaging supplies. You may require several box sizes to accommodate different-sized shipments. You might also require cushioning, like bubble wrap or stuffing. You can get your packaging both online and at post offices or office supply stores.

In general, it’s best to keep your packaging sturdy but straightforward. No recipient wants to deal with three boxes of varying sizes when getting a single product from your business.

Trying to strike this settlement of sturdy packaging and low expense may require some homework. Look for deals where you can. For example, if you use USPS as a business, you can order boxes for free depending on the mail class you choose.

Working the expense of packaging into your total product expense should be pretty straightforward. Depending on the size and standard, most packaging should expense somewhere around $1 to $5 per unit.

2. expense of shipping

Building the expense of shipping into your pricing way is an essential part of correctly setting your prices. You don’t desire to misplace money on shipping or overcharge your customers. To make sure your way works, ponder through these steps:

Consider and contrast

Do you ship a lot of similarly sized products? Or maybe a few sizes or weights of packages? This difference, naturally, affects how you worth a shipment.

Here’s one way to discover the costs of shipping internationally:

1. Using a rate calculator for the carriers you’ll use, receive your average domestic order and worth it out as if you were shipping internationally.
2. Then use the rate calculator for your smallest domestic sale.
3. Now run the costs for your largest domestic sale.

With these three figures in place, you’ll have a sense of pricing for ecommerce international shipping. It’ll also assist you determine which shipments may expense more than others.

If you’re in the US, use our shipping calculator to view how much it will expense to ship internationally with Shopify. For reference, here’s a list of shipping calculators for some major carriers.

• USPS
• UK Royal Mail
• Canada Post
• Australia Post
• UPS
• FedEx

Here are two examples of how different brands could way global shipping:

Brand A:

• The smallest domestic sale costs $5.33 to ship internationally
• Average domestic sales expense $15.47 to ship internationally
• Largest domestic sale expense $124.55 to ship internationally

Brand B:

• The smallest domestic sale costs $1.33 to ship internationally
• Average domestic sales expense $2.75 to ship internationally
• Largest domestic sale expense $3.25 to ship internationally

Brand A has a broader range of shipping costs to cover, and Brand B’s range is relatively narrow. Brand A may be selling heavier and more varied products, while Brand B’s offerings seem more consistent in size and expense.

Structure your pricing

There are three main pricing structures for delivering around the globe: free shipping, carrier-calculated shipping, and flat-rate shipping.

1. Free shipping: Free shipping or free shipping thresholds can be excellent for customers and businesses because these options can inspire adding more to cart, increasing average order worth. If your profits margins allow you to ship international orders for free, consider offering it. If you’re not sure, check out this post on calculating order thresholds for free shipping.
2. Carrier-rate shipping: Shopify already integrates with a few carriers (like USPS, DHL Express, and UPS in the US, Canada Post in Canada, and Sendle in Australia) and gives customers shipping options and real-period pricing. This way is excellent for merchants who desire to be sure they are covering label costs for each order.
3. Flat rate shipping: Flat rate shipping (which can be coupled with free thresholds) is a excellent customer encounter because it makes the checkout encounter predictable and incentivizes increasing cart worth. This way requires the merchant to have a excellent understanding of their profits and costs to set the correct flat rate. Flat rates cruel profitability will vary per order, but with the correct rate level, it will promote overall growth.

3. Handling charges

Along with the expense of your packaging and materials, consider adding a handling expense.

International shipments pass through many more additional facilities than the typical domestic order. You should be packaging these shipments with more worry, and that’s included in your handling. To determine your handling charges, inquire yourself:

• What’s your minimum hourly wage when preparing and packing shipments?
• How long does it receive you, on average, to prepare an order for shipment (from reviewing the order to sending it out)?

Now, you can determine your handling costs. Here’s an example:

It usually takes 10 minutes to prepare an order for shipment. And at $11 per hour to prepare these packages, you would add a $1.83 handling expense to cover the expense.

(10 minutes / 60 minutes) x $11 = $1.83 handling expense

Again, adding in a handling expense is entirely up to you, and you require to do what’s best for your business. Keep in mind that international orders are typically a bit more expensive, and international customers usually expect to pay a bit more for standard shipping. A large part of a standard shipment is how it’s handled and packaged.

4. Duties and taxes

International shipments can be subject to duties and taxes depending on a number of factors. It’s significant to do your research and factor any duties and taxes into your pricing way, especially for any key international trade you are targeting. You can use a responsibility calculator to get an concept of what duties and taxes may apply to your products per goal country.

Taxes are based on a fixed percentage per goal country (and sometimes state or province). Duties, on the other hand, depend on a number of factors, such as: 

• The worth of the items being shipped
• The country of origin or where items were manufactured
• The type of the items being shipped and materials used to make them

By default, the importer (i.e., your customer) is responsible for any taxes or duties on the shipment and will require to pay them before they can receive their order. This is called Delivered responsibility Unpaid (DDU) or, more officially, Delivered At Place (DAP). It’s very significant to be transparent with the buyer about additional fees to manage their expectation and avoid returns and chargebacks. Make sure to set up a obvious profit policy on your website.

To provide a smoother and shock-free buying encounter to your customers, you can choose to be responsible for paying these fees. This is called Delivered responsibility Paid (DDP). In this case, you would collect these fees upfront. 

From a logistical standpoint, you’ll buy the appropriate shipping label, DDU/DAP or DDP, and include customs documentation with your international shipment. Use your domestic postal service as a local resource to make sure you recognize which documents you require to ship internationally. They’ll typically have these documents for you.

💡Tip: When you buy your shipping labels through Shopify Shipping, you’ll be provided with the essential customs documentation needed to fulfill international shipments.

The correct customs paperwork required for an international shipment can vary by country. But typically these two documents will be required: a commercial invoice and an export packing list.

Commercial invoice

The commercial invoice is the invoice for the shipped product from the seller to the buyer that helps prove ownership and settlement. Used to determine the factual worth of the product(s) being shipped, this document helps the country assess customs duties and taxes. Here’s some essential information that should be included:

• The business and customer’s names and addresses
• The worth, descriptions, and amount of the products included
• How the sale was made and the terms of the settlement 
• Shipping way

Depending on the shipping corporation you’re using, the customs information may be embedded in the shipping label. DHL Express provides Paperless Trade to most countries, reducing the require for extra printed documents.

Export packing list

The typical specific on a packing list is on this form (buyer, seller/shipper, invoice number, date of shipment, etc.), but it also includes more extensive information like:

• The mode of transport
• Carrier info
• Weight and dimensions of the package (usually in metric measurements)
• The type and amount of packages
• Package marks

5. profits margins

While international shipping probably isn’t the cheapest way to ship a package, it can still be profitable with the correct way. It’s significant you still make a profits, otherwise international expansion won’t actually assist your final profit. 

worth your products and shipping fees so you’re still competitive but also earn a well profits spread. Your profits margins may be smaller for international shipments, considering costs and additional period spent. But it can be a worthy capital if you desire to develop your brand globally. This is especially significant if you schedule to absorb some or all of the expense of international shipping to make it more affordable for overseas customers. 

To make sure you’re pricing profitably, you can plug different numbers into Shopify’s free profits spread calculator. 

How to reduce international shipping costs with Shopify

Shopify Shipping and Shopify Fulfillment Network provide resources to assist you ship internationally. If your business is in the US, Canada, or Australia, you can use Shopify Shipping to ship internationally. If your business is in the US or Canada, you might be able to use Shopify Fulfillment Network, depending on your eligibility.

Shopify offers businesses in the United States, Canada, and Australia access to discounted rates—up to 88% in funds with international shipping companies like USPS, UPS, DHL Express, Canada Post, Sendle, and more—so you’re already set up to contrast their rates.

When you purchase international shipping labels through Shopify Shipping, the correct customs forms and documentation are automatically generated for you and can be printed on any standard printer (aside from DPP, unless you’re using Managed Markets from Shopify). When you use DHL Express to ship from the US, this documentation is electronically transmitted to customs—no additional paperwork is essential.

If you’re a Shopify merchant, you can also use Managed Markets to get a duties calculator and managed services that receive worry of monetary and legal operations associated with filing taxes, import regulatory adherence, and international shipping.

When you’re ready to get your shipments out the door, you also have the alternative to schedule a free or discounted pickup for any UPS, DHL Express, or Sendle shipment or link out to schedule one directly with USPS.

When considering which shipping carriers to use, there are a few factors to consider.

1. Costs

Using more than one shipping corporation can assist you reduce your shipping costs overall.

Postal carriers are often more affordable, but may not propose many options for package types and speeds. Express carriers tend to be faster, can accommodate heavier or larger packages, and provide more service options, but can be more expensive. Regional carrier services can solve any last-mile problems for your international package, but can be tricky to source and communicate with.

Do your research and worth out postal, express, and carrier options. It’s a excellent concept to get a sense of service availability for your international shipping way.

2. Delivery options

Some customers will desire their purchases correct away, and others will be more willing to wait.

To best serve your customers, propose a excellent mix of delivery options. Providing a range of choices gives them the alternative to settlement the tradeoff between timeline and worth, and that might be the difference between a sale and an abandoned cart.

3. Tracking and insurance

Most international freight shipping companies provide shipment tracking, so you and your customers can easily view up-to-date shipment statuses. You can also add ePacket tracking to provide customers complete-to-complete tracking options and a searchable tracking number.

If you’re worried about a shipment becoming lost or damaged, insuring your parcel against failed delivery is the way to leave. Just about every global express shipper offers insurance. If it isn’t automatically included in the expense of shipping, it’s relatively affordable and straightforward to add.

If you’re a US–based brand using Shopify, you can add Shipsurance insurance to any shipment (as long as it meets the Shipsurance Terms of Service) for up to $5,000 USD of insurance coverage, regardless of shipping way or order goal.

When using postal carriers like USPS or Canada Post, some international shipping services include insurance in the worth of shipping. You can use mail classes like Priority Mail International and Priority Mail Express International with USPS or Priority Worldwide, Xpresspost-USA, or Xpresspost-International with Canada Post to get automatic coverage. You can always pay for coverage using a different shipping service—usually a few dollars per $100 of declared worth.

Whatever you choose, consider adding insurance to any parcel over $200 that you’re shipping to another country. Doing so will add some tranquility of mind to both you and your customer.

Send your first international shipment with Shopify

The first step to ensuring ecommerce international shipping achievement is to have a way in place. From what and how you’ll ship to where and at what expense, giving these factors some thought and research will better prepare you to develop your business around the globe.

recall to try out recent approaches and techniques. Shipping is a fluid and seasonal industry. Be sure to reapply and refine your shipping way as recent offers or changes receive place.