Comparing Shopify Markets and Markets Pro

In our previous articles, we delved into the incredible potential of localization in Shopify, highlighting how it can unlock vast global opportunities for businesses. Since the launch of Shopify Markets in August 2021, the platform has been tirelessly working to empower brands with a comprehensive suite of cross-border management tools. These tools enable businesses to seamlessly identify, establish, launch, optimize, and manage international markets, all from a single store, thereby partially replacing the significance of Shopify Plus Expansion Stores.

In the previous comparison Shopify Markets vs Expansion Stores, we provided an in-depth analysis of the key differences, advantages, and disadvantages associated with each solution.

Continuing our series of comparisons, this article focuses on the contrast between Shopify Markets and Markets Pro. Markets Pro is an extension of Shopify Markets that was introduced in the United States in 2023 and is set to expand to other countries in the near future.

To begin, let's reiterate the fundamentals. Shopify Markets, a collection of free tools available with any Shopify plan, empowers merchants to localize their shopping experiences and boost global sales. Now, the question arises: What exactly is Markets Pro?

Markets Pro

Shopify Markets Pro simplifies the process of entering new international markets, making it effortless to expand your brand globally. With its comprehensive range of features, Markets Pro takes care of all the intricate aspects of cross-border selling, including local regulations, taxes, duties and international shipping.

Empowered by Global-e, these features enable you to seamlessly scale and optimize your international markets directly from your Shopify admin. By utilizing Shopify Markets Pro, Global-e assumes the role of the merchant of record, meaning they take on the legal responsibility of selling products to customers in different regions or countries. This relieves you from the burden of tax registration, remitting taxes, accepting local payment methods, and managing shipping and fulfillment arrangements.

However, what exactly is included in Shopify Markets, and what additional benefits does Markets Pro offer in exchange for the transaction fee of 6.5% of the total order value and the currency conversion fee of 2.5%?

Let's discover it!

Exploring Key Features

Below, you'll find a handy table summarizing the key features we'll be comparing between Shopify Markets and Markets Pro. If you're looking for a deeper analysis, keep reading as we delve into the specifics of this comparison.

As mentioned earlier, Shopify Markets offer a range of free valuable features to enhance your global sales by localizing your shopping experiences. With Shopify Markets, you can personalize your domain for specific markets, add multiple languages to your store, and even sell in local currencies (if Shopify Payments is available in your country). Additionally, you have the flexibility to modify prices and products based on different countries. It's important to note that these features are available in both Markets and Markets Pro.

Now, let's shift our focus to the exclusive features that are available only in Markets Pro.

Geolocation

In Shopify Markets, having an accurate Geolocation app like Orbe was essential. Without it, your customers could end up in the wrong shopping experience with different prices, products, currency, and language. However, with Markets Pro, the significance of Geolocation becomes even more crucial, as its advanced features take localization to the next level.

If you're looking to explore the differences among various Geolocation apps for Shopify, we recommend referring to this comprehensive comparison guide. 

Adding more Local Payment Methods

In Shopify Markets, brands have the option to sell in local currencies and receive payments in their store's primary currency, utilizing Shopify Payments. This aligns with the fact that, according to Shopify, 92% of international visitors prefer to browse and make purchases in their own currency, positively impacting the conversion rate. Additionally, customers can choose from a selection of local payment methods available through Stripe.

With Markets Pro, Shopify takes a step further by providing the opportunity to incorporate additional local payment methods in multiple locations. This enables customers to make purchases using their preferred methods, instilling trust and reducing the likelihood of abandoned carts. For instance, brands can add payment options like Klarna for Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, the United Kingdom, Norway, and even Canada, or opt for PayPal available worldwide.

Fraud Protection

Unlike Shopify Markets, which lacks additional protection against fraud on international orders, Markets Pro offers an added layer of security to ensure your protection in case of fraud occurring on international orders.

Collect Taxes & Duties

In Shopify Markets, only Advanced and Shopify Plus plans currently offer duty and tax estimates during checkout. This allows customers to make purchases while considering the additional charges they would incur upon receiving their orders. However, this approach often leads to a suboptimal user experience, resulting in numerous support tickets and dissatisfied customers, as the duty and tax estimates are subject to change.

On the other hand, in Markets Pro, brands can automatically calculate and collect duties and taxes during checkout. This means that neither the customer nor the brand will have to bear any additional costs when the customer receives the order. Customers will pay their taxes and duties upfront during checkout, and if there are any unforeseen additional costs, Markets Pro will cover those payment fees. This streamlined process eliminates uncertainties and creates a smoother experience for both brands and customers.

Guaranteed Foreign Exchange

When conducting international sales with different currencies, there is a constant risk of selling in a volatile currency due to fluctuating exchange rates. This poses potential positive or negative impacts on brands when international transactions occur. In Shopify Markets, the exchange rate is always applied at the moment of the transaction, which means you may experience monetary gains or losses during payment capture, refund issuance, or chargebacks.

However, in Markets Pro, a foreign currency rate lock is implemented for orders paid in a foreign currency, ensuring that the same exchange rate remains in effect for 30 days after your order is placed. This valuable feature helps safeguard against losses resulting from currency value fluctuations, providing stability and protection for your transactions.

International tax & duty compliance

This is perhaps the most powerful feature of Markets Pro. As mentioned earlier, Global-e assumes the role of the merchant of record, taking legal responsibility for selling products to customers in different regions or countries. As a result, as a brand, you are relieved of the burdens associated with tax registration, tax remittance, acceptance of local payment methods, and management of shipping and fulfillment arrangements in multiple countries. Without this feature, selling worldwide would be operationally impossible for the majority of brands.

So, how does it work? Let's say your company is based in Germany, and you need to ship 100 orders to 100 different people in the US. Without using Markets Pro, you would have to issue 100 separate invoices and manage them individually. However, with Markets Pro, Global-e, acting as the merchant of record, consolidates all these orders into a single invoice.

Now, let's consider a scenario where you not only sell 100 orders to the US but also ship 50 orders to Japan and 200 orders to Australia. Even in this case, Global-e continues to provide a single invoice that encompasses the total number of orders, simplifying all your operations for selling abroad.

Restrictions Management

Every country enforces unique regulations on the importation of goods, resulting in restrictions on specific items. All categories of products are subject to regulation, including notable examples such as food and beverages, jewelry, and medical devices that face stringent regulations on a global scale.

In Shopify Markets, it is crucial to stay vigilant and informed about the prohibited products in each of your shipping countries. By being aware of these regulations, you can take the necessary steps to remove any restricted items from your catalog within those markets. 

With Markets Pro, if you happen to sell a product that is restricted in a particular destination country, it automatically removes that product from the catalog for customers residing in that country. This ensures compliance with local regulations and prevents any issues related to prohibited items being sold and shipped internationally.

Shipping

In Markets, you have the flexibility to use your preferred shipping providers and negotiate your own terms, prices, and conditions with them. However, when using Markets Pro, it is necessary to work exclusively with DHL Express for your international orders. This means that if you have been using different shipping providers, you will need to adapt your processes accordingly. On the other hand, depending on your previous conditions, there is a possibility of obtaining better prices by partnering with DHL Express.

For more detailed information on this extensive topic, we recommend referring to the Shipping with Shopify Markets Pro page in the Shopify Help Center.

Conclusion

While Shopify Markets focuses on localizing shopping experiences and improving global sales, Markets Pro is specifically designed to streamline global operations and simplify cross-border selling.

Shopify Markets provides tools that positively impact global organic traffic in search engines (SEO) and increase the global conversion rate through features like domain customization, multiple languages, and local currencies. On the other hand, Markets Pro goes a step further by making it easier to sell in other countries and offering additional tools to enhance conversion rates, such as adding more local payment methods and accurately displaying taxes and duties for each order.

So, Markets Pro will remove the complexities of selling to other countries on your behalf and open new opportunities to make your business more global.

We hope you've found value in our content. If you'd like to explore Shopify Markets Pro further, consider checking out this additional reference. On the other hand, if your plan involves implementing Shopify Markets Pro on a different store, you can discover insights on how to manage multiple Shopify stores in a dedicated article.