Ecommerce
What is Outreach and How It Works
03.04.2025 · 25 min
Thinking about growing your eCommerce business? Looking beyond your country's borders is a fantastic way to find new customers and build a global brand. While selling internationally might seem daunting at first, breaking it down into clear steps for market research, shipping, and adapting your store makes it totally achievable. Here’s a guide to get you started.
While trends change, some product categories are always popular with international shoppers. The key is often to offer something unique that people can't easily find in their own country.
Here’s what’s often in demand:
Handmade and Artisanal Goods: Unique, high-quality items like jewelry, decor, or accessories are huge hits on platforms like Etsy.
Niche Fashion: Independent clothing brands with a unique style can build a loyal international fanbase.
Specialty Foods: If you sell local delicacies or health foods that don't spoil, you can find a hungry market abroad.
Digital Products: Software, online courses, and digital art are perfect because you don't have to worry about shipping at all.
Collectibles and Unique Items: Vintage finds, art, and niche hobby gear are often sought after by a global community.
Before you jump in, it's smart to weigh the exciting opportunities against the real-world challenges.
A Much Bigger Audience: Going global massively increases the number of potential customers you can reach.
More Sales: More customers usually means more revenue and faster growth.
Less Risk: Spreading your business across different countries makes you less dependent on the economy of just one market.
Bigger Brand Name: A global presence makes your brand look more established and trustworthy.
Shipping Headaches: International shipping, customs, and returns are way more complicated and expensive.
Taxes and Fees: Figuring out import duties, VAT, and other taxes can be a real challenge.
Rules and Regulations: Every country has its own laws for product safety, labeling, and consumer rights.
Currency and Payments: You'll need to handle different currencies and find payment systems that work everywhere.
Customer Support: Supporting customers in different time zones and languages takes time and resources.
Don't just guess which country to target. Use data to find your best opportunities.
Keyword Research: Use tools like Ahrefs or Semrush to see how many people are searching for your products in different countries.
Trend Spotting: Check Google Trends to compare interest in your niche across various regions.
Spy on Competitors: See who is already selling internationally. Look at their prices, marketing, and what their customers are saying.
Marketplace Clues: Browse best-sellers in your category on international sites like Amazon Germany or eBay UK.
Once you’ve picked a market, it’s time to get your website and operations in order.
Marketplaces are the quickest way to get started. They give you instant access to a huge audience that already trusts them. The big ones are:
Amazon: With Amazon Global Selling, you can list your products on their sites around the world.
Etsy: The number one place for anything handmade, vintage, or crafty.
eBay: A giant with a massive global reach, great for all sorts of products.
Look closely at what your competitors in the new market are doing. How do they price their products and shipping? What tone do they use? This will help you fit in and compete effectively.
You probably don't want to sell everything internationally right away. Start with your best-sellers that are also lightweight and easy to ship. Hold off on fragile or heavy items until you’ve figured out your shipping strategy.
This is often the biggest hurdle. Here are your main options:
Ship Directly: Use carriers like DHL or FedEx. You have full control, but it can be pricey.
Use a Fulfillment Center (3PL): Hire a company with warehouses in your target country. They store, pack, and ship for you.
Amazon FBA: If you're on Amazon, you can send your products to their warehouses, and they handle all the customer shipping and returns. It’s a game-changer.
To build trust, your store needs to feel familiar to international visitors.
Language: Get your site professionally translated. Don't rely on automated tools for key pages.
Currency: Show prices in the local currency automatically.
Content: Make sure your photos and marketing messages make sense culturally.
Units: Use local standards for measurements (like cm instead of inches).
Every country is different. You need to look into:
Taxes: Figure out how to handle sales tax like VAT or GST.
Import Fees: Know what customs duties your customers might have to pay so there are no nasty surprises.
Product Safety: Make sure your products meet local standards (like the CE mark in Europe).
Your payment processor needs to handle international cards and multiple currencies. Stripe and PayPal are the two most popular and reliable choices for global sales.
1. What's the easiest way to start selling internationally?
The fastest and lowest-risk way is to start on a major marketplace like Etsy (for handmade goods) or Amazon using their Global Selling program. They handle a lot of the complexity, like payments and customer trust, giving you a launchpad to test new markets.
2. Do I need to register a company in another country to sell there?
Generally, no. For most eCommerce businesses, you can sell from your home country. However, you are responsible for understanding and complying with the tax and import laws of the country you're selling to.
3. How do I handle international returns? They seem expensive.
They can be. You have a few options:
Use a fulfillment service (like Amazon FBA or another 3PL) that has a local warehouse to handle returns for you.
For low-cost items, consider offering a refund without requiring the customer to ship the item back.
Set a clear return policy on your site so customers know what to expect.
4. How much should I charge for international shipping?
Transparency is key. The best options are:
Offer real-time shipping rates from carriers like DHL or FedEx at checkout.
Set flat-rate shipping fees for different countries or regions.
Offer free shipping on orders over a certain amount, but be sure to build some of that shipping cost into your product prices.
5. What's the most important legal issue to watch out for?
Taxes and duties. Specifically, understanding VAT (Value Added Tax) in the UK and EU. Many regions now require sellers to collect and remit these taxes, so it's crucial to research the rules for the countries you're targeting or use a service that helps manage it.
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