If you’re selling internationally on Shopify, you’ve probably asked this question (or avoided it altogether):
“Should I show duties and taxes at checkout—or just let the customer deal with them on delivery?”
Here’s the truth:
If you’re not showing landed costs, you’re likely losing conversions—and trust.
In this post, we’ll walk through what landed costs actually mean, why transparency drives international growth, and how top brands use duty-inclusive strategies to boost performance without scaring off shoppers.
What Are Landed Costs—and Why Do They Matter?
Landed costs are the total costs an international customer pays to receive their order. This includes:
- Product price
- Shipping cost
- Duties and taxes (like VAT or GST)
- Any customs processing or carrier fees
When these costs aren’t disclosed clearly before purchase, the result is usually:
- Cart abandonment
- Declining repeat purchase rates
- Failed deliveries
- Customer service overload
The Risks of Not Showing Duties at Checkout
Many brands still use a DDU (Delivered Duty Unpaid) model—meaning the customer is expected to pay duties upon delivery.
Here’s what typically happens:
- The customer is surprised by a bill from the courier
- They reject the package
- Your team deals with a return, refund, and angry email
Worse, that customer likely won’t come back.
The Better Approach: Duty-Inclusive (DDP) Checkout
DDP (Delivered Duty Paid) means you calculate and collect all duties, taxes, and fees during checkout—and your customer sees exactly what they’ll pay.
Why it works:
- No surprises = more trust
- More trust = more conversions
- Clear costs = fewer delivery failures
In fact, Shopify’s own research shows that international customers are 60% more likely to complete a purchase when total costs are transparent.
How to Show Landed Costs on Shopify
There are three main approaches to displaying landed costs without hurting conversion:
1. Use a DDP Partner with Shopify Integration
Platforms like Passport integrate with Shopify to calculate duties and taxes dynamically at checkout, per customer location.
- Display real-time landed costs before purchase
- Bundle shipping + duties into one line item
- Auto-remit taxes via Seller of Record® model
“Passport helped us show fully landed costs in checkout. As soon as we turned on those optimizations, we saw our first seven-figure international month.”
— Team Ogee
2. Label Pricing and Checkout Messaging Clearly
Even if you’re using flat-rate shipping, make sure to clearly call out whether duties are included or not. Use messages like:
- “Includes VAT & import fees”
- “No additional taxes at delivery”
- “Delivered duty paid for your convenience”
3. Localize Currency and Tax Display
A landed cost strategy works best when paired with:
- Auto currency detection (EUR, GBP, AUD)
- Country-specific shipping thresholds
- Regionally compliant invoice display
Real Results: Why Transparency Wins
Let’s look at what happens when you do show landed costs:
Brand A (Luxury Skincare):
Switched from DDU to DDP with Passport
📈 124% increase in international sales
📉 30% drop in failed deliveries
🛍 Higher repeat rate across UK and EU
Brand B (Apparel):
Started bundling duties into flat-rate shipping
🚫 Zero customer complaints about surprise fees
✅ Positive post-purchase NPS boost
But What About Margins?
Some brands worry that showing duties up front will hurt their margins. In practice, this usually isn’t the case—especially if you:
- Adjust your international pricing strategy by region
- Implement a smart shipping threshold
- Bundle duties into product or shipping cost
With Passport, we help you build pricing models that maintain contribution margin and improve customer satisfaction.
Show the Real Price. Win the Real Customer.
Global shoppers don’t expect free—they expect clear.
And the brands that give them that clarity are winning.
At Passport, we help Shopify and Shopify Plus merchants show fully landed costs through duty-inclusive checkout, localized pricing, and Seller of Record® compliance—so you can boost trust, conversion, and revenue across borders.
Global Growth, Built for Brands.
