What is Global Commerce? Benefits and Challenges (2025)

Global commerce is the selling of products or services to customers in foreign countries, which can generate increased revenue and improve resilience.

As of 2025, the US population is about 340 million people. That’s a lot of potential customers. The global population, however, hovers at around eight billion. 

While no business will sell to every individual in a given region, this demonstrates a lot of untapped potential for US businesses that don’t sell overseas. Framed another way, US companies that exclusively sell domestically limit their maximum target audience size to around 4.2% of the total world population. 

Yet, only a fraction of US companies sell products internationally. This is perhaps because selling internationally requires advanced compliance and logistics management programs—not to mention an understanding of the local language and culture. With proper research and planning, businesses can plan an effective international launch and benefit from access to the global economy.

What is global commerce?

A business engages in global commerce by selling products or services to customers beyond the business’s country of origin. Global commerce encompasses global ecommerce as well as products sold through overseas brick-and-mortar retail locations.

Three benefits of global commerce

Global commerce, also referred to as international commerce, allows businesses to sell to a larger and more diversified customer base, which can increase revenue and resilience. Here are three ways it can benefit your business:

1. Access to new markets and customers 

At a certain point, successful businesses may reach market saturation in their country of origin. Expanding into new markets offers an opportunity to increase revenue and profitability.

Impact Dog Crates, a family-owned company producing secure aluminum dog crates, saw tremendous growth after implementing their international strategy. Before expanding internationally, they struggled with complex customs processes and high shipping costs that sometimes reached as high as 50% of the product price for European customers.

By using Shopify's Managed Markets solution, Impact achieved a remarkable 164% increase in global sales and 77% growth in global conversion rates.

"International growth was always on our corporate strategy roadmap. Managed Markets certainly accelerated the realization of that goal." 

Jake Pereira, COO, Impact Dog Crates

👉 Read Impact Dog Crates’ story

2. Reduced dependence on a single market or region 

Global commerce can make companies less vulnerable to fluctuations in local and national markets. By selling in multiple markets, global businesses can minimize the impact of economic or political conditions that hurt sales in any one region. 

Luxury menswear brand Orlebar Brown has successfully expanded to over 50 direct stores in the US and 250 additional locations worldwide. Implementing a unified commerce strategy created a seamless experience for customers shopping across channels and countries.

"Supporting our customers' shopping journey, which can begin at a store in Sydney, continue online from their home in New York, then end with a purchase from a store in St. Tropez, is always our priority," explains Jamie De Cesare, chief technology officer at Orlebar Brown.

Their global approach has delivered impressive results, including a 30%–40% decrease in total cost of ownership and a 66% increase in basket-to-checkout conversion rates.

👉 Read Orlebar Brown’s story

3. Access to economies of scale

By reaching larger markets, businesses can produce and sell their goods in larger quantities, leading to lower per-unit production costs. Global expansion allows companies to spread fixed costs across a larger sales volume, optimize production runs, and gain greater negotiating power with suppliers.

How Shopify helps you go global 

Shopify offers powerful tools for businesses looking to expand internationally. Whether you're starting to explore international markets or scaling a global enterprise, Shopify provides solutions that grow with your business.

Managed Markets

Managed Markets functions as a built-in merchant of record (MoR) service that handles the most challenging aspects of international selling. Every transaction happens on your Shopify store, while the MoR acts behind the scenes as a silent reseller between you and your global customers.

You’ll also get:

• Fast, affordable shipping: Exclusive discounted rates for international shipping, package tracking on every order, and express shipping that delivers worldwide in 1–5 days.
• Localized payment processing: Global customers can check out with payment options they recognize, improving conversion rates in international markets.
• Complete tax compliance: VAT, duties, and local taxes are prepaid by your customer at checkout and remitted on your behalf, eliminating compliance headaches.
• Customs pre-clearance: Packages travel seamlessly through customs with no chance of hold-ups or surprise fees that might disappoint customers.
• Fraud and chargeback handling: Managed Markets handles fraudulent purchases and chargebacks, reducing risk when selling internationally.

Expansion stores

Businesses on the Shopify Plus plan can create up to nine additional store clones (for 10 total stores) to support different languages, localized content and promotions, regional currencies and pricing, and custom tax rules depending on region. This is ideal for businesses that want separate experiences in different regions, such as US, UK, EU, or APAC.

Allbirds Netherlands expansion store with localized graphics and messaging.

Four challenges of global commerce

Selling internationally can also create significant business and operational complications. Here’s a list of common challenges and how to overcome them:

1. Following different countries' rules
2. Speaking your customers' language (verbally and culturally)
3. Getting products to customers worldwide
4. Handling different currencies and payment methods

1. Following different countries' rules

When selling globally, you need to follow laws in your home country as well as every country where you sell. This includes tax laws, business requirements, and other regulations.

For example, organizations doing business in China must obtain a Chinese business license and a commercial internet content provider license. They must also comply with the country’s censorship laws (known as The Great Firewall) to host an ecommerce website visible to Chinese consumers. 

Start by researching regulations that might apply to your business. The US Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration maintains a list of resources for US-based businesses engaged in global trade, including a series of country commercial guides designed to help US businesses understand the requirements for engaging in international business. Many countries’ governments also maintain English-language resources for international businesses. For example, this Chinese site addresses businesses considering an investment in China.

💡Shopify automatically calculates and collects duties and taxes during checkout in eligible countries. This prevents customers from getting surprise fees when their package arrives, which often leads to returns and unhappy shoppers.

2. Speaking your customers' language (verbally and culturally)

Selling in another country means communicating with customers who speak different languages and have different cultural expectations. Getting this wrong can lead to marketing mistakes and product failures.

To succeed, businesses need to first conduct research to understand how cultural differences affect the perception of marketing materials. Once you’ve gained an understanding of local cultural and economic conditions, you can develop unique marketing strategies in each country where you plan to do business. 

For example, because Guatemala has a more social society than the US, McDonald’s promotes meal plans for four or more people there. Their US promotions—like getting a free medium fries when you download their app—emphasize individual gain. 

💡 Shopify supports more than 20 languages through built-in tools and apps like Weglot. Your customers can browse in their preferred language automatically.

You can adjust prices for different regions (like charging more in Australia to cover higher shipping costs), show different products in different regions, and manage inventory across global locations. This lets you create a shopping experience that feels local to each customer.

3. Getting products to customers worldwide

Global supply chains have experienced significant disruption over the past few years and are likely to continue experiencing turmoil. Investing in robust logistical and supply chain management practices can minimize disruptions.

The following tactics can also help: 

• Employ near-sourcing: Near-sourcing refers to sourcing materials and manufacturing products close to their end users. This process can cut fulfillment expenses, environmental impacts, and exposure to supply chain disruptions. If you’re planning a large-scale expansion into a single market, near-sourcing can be an effective strategy. 
• Operate an international warehouse: Although it carries significant up-front costs, purchasing or leasing a warehouse overseas can minimize fulfillment costs and speed up deliveries. If you plan to distribute a significant number of products in another country, establishing warehousing infrastructure there can be a cost-effective option in the long run.
• Use supply chain technology: Logistics software, inventory management software, and supply chain automation software can help businesses anticipate disruptions and minimize potential impacts on operations. 
• Consider a third-party logistics provider: Third-party logistics providers (3PLs) can handle storage, order fulfillment, and shipping. 

💡 Shopify connects with global shipping services like DHL, UPS, and FedEx. It helps you set up shipping zones by country, automatically fills out customs forms, and works with third-party logistics providers. This makes sending products around the world much simpler.

4. Handling different currencies and payment methods

Global commerce businesses also need to develop user- and business-friendly international payment processing systems. Because most customers prefer to pay in their home country’s currency, identifying a payment processing partner that accepts a wide range of currencies can support international sales. 

💡 Shopify supports over 100 payment methods, including country-specific options like iDEAL (Netherlands) and Paytm (India). Brands on the Plus plan can manage multiple currencies with automatic conversion.

Global commerce FAQ

What is the meaning of global commerce?

Global commerce means businesses selling their products or services to customers in other countries, not just their home country. It includes both online sales and products sold through overseas brick-and-mortar retail locations.

What are some of the factors when expanding into new global markets?

Common global market expansion considerations:

• Managing global business compliance
• Navigating language and cultural differences
• International fulfillment and logistics
• International payment processing

How can my marketing and advertising strategies adapt for global commerce?

To position your brand for global commerce success:

• Conduct market research in every country where you’ll do business
• Partner with local marketing experts to localize your branding and marketing materials
• Avoid translation mistakes by hiring human translators, not translation software

How can I ensure that I comply with international regulations and standards?

The US International Trade Administration maintains a library of country-specific resources to help US businesses sell products internationally and maintain compliance. Consult the ITA and country-specific government websites, then look for a global ecommerce software solution that offers international compliance support, like Shopify Markets.