International expansion on Shopify
By Tom Carew and Tom Mucklow-Norell · Published 19 October 2026
We help brands sell in more countries on Shopify and Shopify Plus, with Shopify Markets, expansion stores and local warehouses. Recent work includes Ceva across eight countries, Allbirds in Canada and South Korea, and Funkin Cocktails in the US.
The short answer
- Shopify Markets handles currencies, languages and domains from one store, which suits most brands.
- Expansion stores suit very different catalogues, teams or brands per country.
- Fulfilment, duties and local payment methods matter as much as the storefront.
Markets or expansion stores?
| Shopify Markets | Expansion stores | |
|---|---|---|
| Set-up | One store, several markets | A separate Shopify Plus store per country or brand |
| Catalogue | Shared, with market-specific prices and availability | Can differ completely |
| Teams | One team runs everything | Local teams can run their own store |
| Example | Most single-brand D2C stores | Ceva's brands by country; Allbirds Canada and South Korea |
International work
| Brand | What we did |
|---|---|
| Ceva | Four brands across eight countries on one Shopify Plus codebase, so a new section works on every site |
| Allbirds | Canada and South Korea moved to a native Shopify Plus theme the local teams run, with Shopify POS |
| Funkin Cocktails | A US site to support North American expansion |
| Powder Design | International markets and warehouses, with a custom API |
- 8 countries
- Ceva's Shopify Plus sites, run from one codebase
- 20+ sites
- Across Ceva's four brands
- 4.9/5
- Average rating from 58 verified Clutch reviews
‘We appreciated their simple, straightforward workflow and consistent communication.’
Questions to ask
- Should we use Shopify Markets or separate stores?
- How will prices, duties and taxes work in each country?
- Where will orders ship from, and how will stock sync?
- Who will run each store day to day?
FAQs
Can one codebase serve several brands and countries?
Yes. Ceva runs four brands across eight countries from one Shopify Plus codebase, so improvements roll out to every site.
Keep reading
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