When it comes to growing your ecommerce brand internationally, what happens before the “Buy Now” click is just as important as what happens after.
Too often, brands lose conversions because international shoppers encounter friction in the final stretch—confusing shipping options, unclear costs, or checkout experiences that don’t feel localized.
The good news? These are all fixable. And fast-growing brands are already making the switch. In this post, we’ll walk through the top 10 ways to improve your landing page and checkout conversion rates for global customers—along with real examples from brands scaling with Passport.
1. Show Localized Pricing and Currency from the Start
If your store shows prices only in USD (or in the wrong local currency), international shoppers are more likely to bounce. Research shows that over 90% of global consumers prefer to shop in their own currency.
What to do:
- Use geo-IP detection to auto-display prices in local currency
- Clearly show tax-inclusive pricing if required in a shopper’s country
How Passport Helps:
We support localization in over 130 currencies and enable tax-inclusive pricing display through our storefront integration, so your international customers see what they’ll pay—no surprises.
2. Make Duties and Taxes Clear at Checkout
Nothing kills conversion like surprise fees at delivery. A duty-unpaid (DDU) model might seem easier up front, but it may lead to “Where is my order?” (WISMO) tickets, abandoned carts, and bad reviews.
What to do:
- Offer a DDP (Delivered Duty Paid) checkout experience
- Clearly label shipping + duty costs in-cart or during checkout
3. Use Flat-Rate or Free Shipping Thresholds to Boost AOV
Free shipping still works—when it’s strategic. A well-placed threshold (e.g. “Free shipping over $100”) encourages larger carts and improves checkout rates.
Real Example: Ogee
During an 11-week test with Passport, Ogee introduced a free shipping threshold for international customers. The results?
- 124% increase in international sales
- 147% increase in orders
- All while maintaining contribution margins
- And less than 1 hour of work for their team—Passport handled the rest.
4. A/B Test Your Checkout Options by Region
You wouldn’t show the same homepage to all traffic—so why treat shipping and pricing the same way across regions?
What to test:
- Flat-rate vs dynamic shipping
- Different free shipping thresholds by region
- Displaying delivery estimates vs not
How Passport Helps:
Our team runs region-specific experiments and handles setup across Shopify and custom platforms to maximize impact with minimal lift on your end.
5. Display Estimated Delivery Dates Early and Often
Shoppers want to know when their order will arrive—especially during holidays or peak season.
Best practices:
- Show estimated delivery dates on product and cart pages
- Adjust based on warehouse location and carrier performance
- Communicate delays or cutoff dates proactively
Why it works:
Clear delivery estimates reduce anxiety, improve trust, and decrease abandoned carts. Bonus: fewer WISMO tickets.
6. Translate More Than Just Product Pages
Many brands translate PDPs or use auto-translate tools—but forget about post-purchase and support pages. These are trust builders.
Don’t forget to localize:
- Return policies and shipping pages
- Tracking pages and order confirmations
- FAQs and customer support scripts
How Passport Helps:
We offer branded, localized tracking pages and can help support localized return flows—especially critical for high-value purchases.
7. Highlight Your Most Relevant Shipping Option
Choice is great. But too much choice overwhelms shoppers.
Instead:
- Use smart defaults based on region, AOV, or urgency
- Highlight the “best” option with tags like “Fastest” or “Most Popular”
- Use data to prioritize carriers with highest on-time rates per region
8. Build Confidence with Transparent Landing Pages
Don’t hide your shipping or return policies—show them off.
What to include:
- Up-to-date delivery timelines
- Regional shipping options and costs
- Local return hubs or simplified return flows
Pro Tip: Link these pages from product and cart pages to reduce friction.
9. Localize Promotions and Banners
Running a holiday sale in the U.S.? Consider your global audience too. Local holidays, shipping cutoff dates, and tax-free thresholds vary by country. To help you, here is a global holiday calendar to get you started.
Ideas:
- Geo-target banners with local promotions
- Mention duties included in pricing (if applicable)
- Highlight local delivery timelines
10. Don’t Forget the Post-Purchase Experience
The sale isn’t over after checkout. A branded, localized tracking page reassures international customers—and reinforces your brand promise.
How Passport Helps:
We offer branded, region-specific tracking pages with real-time updates, so you stay top of mind post-purchase and reduce support burden. Plus, our Customer Support team provides live end-customer service to help you manage tickets, saving you time and resources.
Global Growth Starts at the Storefront
If you want to win internationally, you have to optimize your pre-purchase experience—not just your logistics.
By localizing the storefront, clarifying pricing and shipping, and simplifying checkout, brands like Ogee and Carpe are turning browsers into global buyers.
Ready to make international your biggest growth channel?
We’ll help you get there—with tailored storefront strategy, smart shipping experiments, and fully managed implementation.
