The Road to Global Success: Key Considerations for Expanding Your Ecommerce Business

The ecommerce market is maturing. According to our 2025 Benchmark Report, growth slowed in 2024 — down from double digits to an average of 5.6%. At the same time, online penetration rates are leveling off, and consumers are returning to physical stores.

That’s why many brands are starting to pursue growth internationally. These markets are less mature than domestic ones, which gives them an advantage. But it’s one thing to want to expand your business internationally and another to solve the many challenges of doing so.

This guide will get you started. We’ll cover market selection, logistics concerns, compliance, and other topics for a successful ecommerce international expansion.

The Growth of Cross-Border Ecommerce

According to our 2025 Benchmark study, 73% of online businesses plan to explore new markets in the next 12 months. There are several reasons for this, including:

• New technologies have made it easier to sell and ship products internationally
• There’s a growing demand for global brands
• Domestic growth has stagnated, forcing companies that want rapid growth to search for it elsewhere

Many of these businesses are leveraging localized marketplaces to meet international consumers where they already shop. This is like selling as a third-party vendor on Amazon or Walmart, only internationally.

This trend is projected to continue well into the future. Global expansion isn’t just a new avenue for growth—it helps ecommerce brands navigate shifting demand patterns and strengthens resilience.

Key Considerations Before Deciding to Expand Internationally

Scaling ecommerce with international growth can be a winning strategy for the next decade. But to get there, your business will first need to consider the following:

Market Research and Selection

The first question is which international markets your brand will expand into. You’ll want to explore consumer behavior trends and purchasing power insights across your top options. You can begin with ShipStation’s 2025 Benchmark Report, which collected data from large consumer groups across many international markets.

It will also be important to evaluate the local competition and regulatory requirements for your products. The goal should be to identify a market with high demand for what you sell and few barriers to entry.

Cross-Border Logistics and Fulfillment

The next step is figuring out the cross-border logistics and fulfillment piece of your expansion plans. This starts with navigating international shipping complexities, like customs and duties.

Another key piece is choosing a fulfillment solution. Many brands end up comparing marketplace fulfillment to third-party logistics (3PL) solutions. The first option means selling your products through a marketplace with existing demand, while 3PLs provide more of a direct-to-consumer model.

Both fulfillment routes have merit, and it could make sense to use them together. For example, your brand could leverage ShipStation for easier multi-marketplace fulfillment. We make it easy to import orders from every channel, speed up labeling, and reduce errors while you push for expansion.

Many ecommerce companies also leverage regional warehouses and micro-fulfillment centers throughout their new territory. This can reduce delivery speed, making it easier to compete with domestic brands that have the advantage of existing logistics infrastructure.

Localizing the Customer Experience

After you’ve chosen a market and solved logistics, the final step is localizing your shopping experience for your new target audience. You want shopping at your store to feel effortless. That means:

• Supporting local languages and currencies
• Offering local payment methods, like WeChat Pay, Klarna, or Alipay
• Creating a process for cross-border customer support and returns

3 Common Challenges in Global Expansion

As you work toward global expansion, you’re likely to face challenges similar to those of your peers. Here are three key examples of challenges your brand may face, and what to do about them.

1. Navigating Compliance and Regulations

First, entering a new market means learning rules and regulations. These include tax laws, data privacy legislation, and trade regulations.

You can reduce the learning curve by using an automated logistics solution like ShipStation. Our technology auto-fills things like local taxes and duties, so you don’t have to calculate them all by hand and risk costly errors or fines.

2. Managing Cross-Border Returns and Reverse Logistics

Next, many ecommerce brands struggle with cross-border returns and reverse logistics. Consumers expect this process to be hassle-free, but that can be hard to do when you’re shipping between countries.

The solution is partnering with local return centers and 3PL providers. They can act as your “boots on the ground,” making sure regional customers have a good experience while liaising with your home office in the United States.

3. Adapting to Regional Consumer Expectations

Finally, there are significant variations in consumer expectations across markets. Cultural preferences can influence everything from what your branding should look like to how you should talk to consumers through ads.

The best way to overcome this challenge is with a top-tier market research strategy. The more you learn about your target consumer, the easier it will be to reach your international sales goals. Consider the following questions:

• Are your global customers interested in premium, unique, or niche products?
• Do your customers prefer to shop via social commerce or global marketplaces?
• What are your customer’s payment preferences?
• What cultural nuances will impact your marketing and communication efforts?

3 Strategies for Scaling International Growth

Once you’ve broken into cross-border ecommerce, the next step is scaling your growth to reach your long-term goals. That process can include each of the following steps:

1. Diversifying sales channels to extend brand reach: Includes expanding beyond direct-to-consumer to global marketplaces like Amazon, Zalando, Shopee, and Mercado Libre. You can also drive awareness with social commerce and regional influencers.
2. Leveraging data and AI to make operations more efficient: This will help you predict demand, optimize inventory, and create more personalized marketing campaigns.
3. Focusing on sustainability to meet customer demands: Carbon-neutral shipping and eco-friendly packaging is what consumers want. This can become a competitive advantage for your brand and help it establish a profitable reputation in its new markets.

Next Steps: Develop Your Resilient Global Strategy

Expanding internationally can help your ecommerce brand achieve sustained growth while improving its resilience to market fluctuations. But that process is complicated, requiring in-depth market research and a coordinated logistics strategy.

ShipStation is here to help you get started with logistics software that makes international expansion easier. You can also download the Ecommerce Delivery Benchmark Report 2025 to learn more about the current state of international ecommerce and what it will take to succeed.