This article explains how Shopify Markets works, how it relates to shipping zones, and what to consider when setting up international markets alongside Swap Global.
💡 Shopify automatically adds and activates the Domestic Market, and creates inactive 'European Union' and 'International' markets.
What is Shopify Markets?
Shopify Markets is a cross-border management tool that lets you manage international sales from a single Shopify store. It enables you to create localised shopping experiences for global markets — including relevant languages, currencies, and payment methods.
With Swap Global, international pricing such as duties and taxes is already handled.
How Shopify Markets relates to shipping zones
Shopify Markets and Shopify shipping zones serve different purposes but both need to be configured for customers to complete checkout internationally.
Shopify Markets determines which countries customers can shop from. If a country is not in an active market, customers in that country cannot shop in your store.
Shopify shipping zones determine which shipping rates are displayed at checkout. If a country is not in an active shipping zone, customers in that country cannot complete checkout.
A country must be in both an active Shopify market and an active Shopify shipping zone for a customer to complete their shopping journey.
⚠️ If a country is in a market but not a shipping zone, or vice versa, Shopify will display a warning in the related settings sections.
Recommendations
Enable Country/Region Redirection and Local Currencies on the market preferences page. These aren't required for Swap Global to function, but they let customers shop in their local currency and improve their experience.
Also ensure that Tax Inclusion is disabled in your market settings.
How to create, expand, or activate a market
Follow this guide to set up, expand, or activate Shopify Markets.
Limitations of Shopify Markets
Market limit — depending on your Shopify plan, you can manage a maximum of 50 markets.
Customisation restrictions — full customisation of each market's storefront may be limited by your plan.
Management complexity — managing multiple markets with different settings can require additional resources.
Currency and language support — not all currencies and languages are supported, which may limit reach in some regions.