You’re already selling internationally, but your existing markets haven’t yet reached their full potential. This webinar shows how to improve international conversion rates through a better local experience and more reliable execution, from order management and warehousing to shipping. Ultimately, it’s the entire OMS, WMS, and TMS chain that drives more profitable cross-border expansion.
This content is from a webinar co-hosted by Maxime Zablot, Head of Partnerships at Shippingbo, and Arnaud Vançon, Partner Manager for France and Italy at Global-e. Together, they shared their insights on a topic that has become central to many brands: how to grow international sales without creating more complexity than value.
- Where Cross-Border Growth Really Stalls
- Why the Back Office Needs to Keep Up with the Local Front Office
- International business becomes profitable when execution follows through
The webinar starts with a fairly simple observation. From a technical standpoint, expanding into international markets is more accessible than it was a few years ago. CMS platforms facilitate multi-country deployment, specialized cross-border solutions are becoming more established, and it’s getting easier to enter new markets. But this acceleration also raises a fundamental question: how can we ensure that this growth remains transparent, manageable, and profitable over the long term?
That is the whole point of the discussion between Shippingbo and Global-e in this webinar. Rather than presentingcross-border expansion as simply a matter of entering new markets, the speakers show that a significant part of performance hinges on other factors: in the ability to eliminate the friction that hinders conversion in already-open markets, and in the quality of execution that then allows companies to absorb this growth under favorable conditions.
Where Cross-Border Growth Really Stalls
Avant de parler d’outils, le webinar pose une idée juste : deux stratégies coexistent pour vendre à l’international. La première consiste à s’appuyer sur les marketplaces, souvent utiles pour tester un marché grâce à leur audience locale déjà installée. La seconde passe par le D2C, via son propre site, avec un avantage majeur : mieux contrôler sa marque, sa fidélisation et ses marges. Les deux approches sont complémentaires, mais dans les deux cas, la même question revient : pourquoi la conversion plafonne-t-elle une fois le marché ouvert ?
| Approach | Key Strength | Main limitation | When to use it |
| Marketplaces | Quickly reach an existing local audience | Less control over the brand and the margin | Test a market, accelerate the launch |
| D2C | Better Manage Customer Experience, Customer Loyalty, and Profitability | Requires more robust execution on the checkout and logistics side | Building Sustainable Growth Market by Market |
Opening up a country is not enough to drive performance
The first obstacle is believing that an international marketplace is simply a copy of the French site. Even within the eurozone, shopping habits vary greatly from one country to another. The example given in the webinar speaks volumes: in Germany, returns management is a key issue, particularly in the fashion industry, because consumers are accustomed to ordering multiple items and then keeping only the one that suits them. A brand that fails to anticipate this behavior can see its conversion rate drop very quickly, even with a good product.
The second obstacle isentering new markets too soon, when existing markets are still underutilized. When there is already international traffic or a base of interested customers, the top priority is often to improve conversion rates on the existing platform. This approach is more cost-effective than starting from scratch in a new country without first resolving issues related to checkout, payments, taxes, or returns.
The real issue comes down to the checkout process, not just the translation
One of the most insightful takeaways from the webinar is that translation isn’t necessarily the primary driver of conversions. What often tips the scales toward a purchase is the checkout process.
The main challenges discussed during the webinar are as follows:
- Local currency missing or difficult to read
- Local price not aligned with the target market
- Payment methods that are not suited to local customs
- Taxes and duties not explained clearly enough
- Vague or Unreassuring Delivery Promise
If any one of these elements is missing, the sale falls through at the most critical moment.
The examples cited are very concrete. In Germany, Sofort can make all the difference. In Switzerland, Twint plays a major role in adoption. In East Asia, certain local payment methods are essential. The webinar also points out that a customer who discovers customs fees at the time of delivery isn’t just surprised—more importantly, they’re unlikely to ever order again. Transparency regarding taxes and customs duties is therefore not a minor detail. It’s a direct driver of international conversion and customer loyalty.
The same logic applies to shipping. A vague promise, a delivery time that seems too long, or a carrier that isn’t clearly identified can be enough to undermine trust, especially when the purchase is made on a foreign website. To win over international customers, you need to give them the impression that they’re shopping in a local environment—one that’s reassuring and consistent with the standards of their own country.
Would you like to calculate your revenue growth potential by entering new markets? Check out our simulator and give it a try.
Why the Back Office Needs to Keep Up with the Local Front Office
Once this foundation is laid, the webinar shifts to a point that’s often underestimated: a good front-end experience isn’t enough if the back-end operations become unmanageable. As the number of markets grows, the brand must adapt to variations in carriers, cut-off times, customs documents, order flows, and peaks in activity.
Specifically, the implementation must be capable of:
- centraliser les commandes issues de plusieurs marchés
- synchronize inventory in real time
- Assign the appropriate carrier based on the country, channel, and delivery commitment
- Seamlessly print labels and customs documents
- handle peaks in activity without compromising turnaround times
That’s when cross-border expansion starts to get expensive if operations aren’t properly structured.
Profitable growth depends on unified execution
With this in mind, Shippingbo reiterates its approach based on complementary modules: OMS, WMS, and TMS.
- L’OMS centralise les commandes et met à jour les stocks en temps réel sur les canaux de vente.
- Le WMS pilote l’exécution dans l’entrepôt pour préparer vite et bien, selon des sessions adaptées aux priorités logistiques.
- Le TMS gère la couche transport, avec le choix du bon transporteur, l’édition des étiquettes et la remontée du suivi.
These building blocks can be used on their own or in combination, depending on the merchant’s architecture.
The goal of the connector between Shippingbo and Global-e is preciselyto bridge the gap between the local front end and the back office. Orders placed through the Global-e checkout are sent to Shippingbo, then forwarded to the internal warehouse, retail stores, or a logistics provider depending on the chosen setup, after which shipping information and customs documents are consolidated for operational purposes. The benefit is clear: an international order should not be treated as a “separate” order in the warehouse. It must be processed within a controlled workflow, with the same level of transparency as a domestic order.
The webinar also points out that this approach isn’t limited to Shopify. The Shippingbo x Global-e connector can also be integrated into PrestaShop, Magento, or WooCommerce environments. The goal, therefore, is not to promote a single platform, but to create a unified workflow capable of scaling with growth without increasing the number of tools used on the front end.
The Hartford case shows what well-executed optimization can achieve
The Hartford case is a good illustration of this approach. The brand was already generating several million euros in international revenue, but faced several limitations: localization efforts deemed insufficient, complex management of taxes and customs duties, incomplete payment options in certain markets, and an operational burden that was too heavy for the teams. The problem, therefore, was not a lack of demand. The problem was the gap between the markets’ potential and the quality of the experience actually provided.
The results presented in the webinar speak for themselves, especially since they were achieved in less than two months.
What Hartford quickly resolved:
- improved conversion rates in key markets, particularly in Switzerland, thanks to the addition of Twint
- Improved performance across several European countries following checkout optimization
- growth in the U.S. market despite a more tense environment regarding customs issues
- an increase from about 20 active markets to 35 active markets
Not because the brand had suddenly opened up everything, but because markets that had previously been underutilized began to convert better.
This case clearly illustrates the logic presented throughout the webinar: before seeking to drive more traffic, you must first plug the holes in your funnel. Once the checkout process has been made more reliable and the workflow has been clarified, the brand can finally invest with greater confidence in SEO, SEA, or market-by-market business development.
International business becomes profitable when execution follows through
The starting point for cross-border expansion isn’t to open up everywhere. The real starting point is to identify what’s already holding back performance in your existing markets: currency, pricing, payment methods, taxes, shipping, returns, or logistics. Until these issues are addressed, international growth remains fragile, costly, and difficult to scale.
Conversely, when the local experience is better designed and execution is on point on the OMS, WMS, and TMS sides, the international market ceases to be a separate issue. It becomes a more predictable and profitable driver of growth. This is precisely where Shippingbo and Global-e seek to create value: on the one hand, a more robust localization of the customer journey; on the other, smoother and more transparent logistics.
Watch the full webinar replay to see, step by step, how to improve your international conversion rates without complicating your operations:
FAQ
Because a translated website doesn’t guarantee better conversion rates. The real sticking point often occurs at checkout, when customers can’t find the right currency, the right payment methods, a clear delivery promise, or easy-to-understand information about taxes.
Not necessarily. The webinar shows that it is often more cost-effective to first optimize existing markets before further expanding international coverage.
Because a poorly handled international order costs more, takes longer, and undermines the customer experience. If inventory, shipping, and customs documentation aren’t properly managed, it quickly becomes difficult to scale with growth.
No. They can coexist just fine. Marketplaces are often used to test or accelerate growth in certain markets, while D2C allows for greater control over brand image, customer loyalty, and profit margins.
Glossary
Cross-border
E-commerce sales generated in international markets, excluding the domestic market.
D2C
Direct-to-consumer. A business model in which the brand sells directly to the end customer through its own website.
Checkout
The final step in the purchasing process, when the customer enters their information, selects a payment method, and confirms their order.
WHO
Order Management System. A tool that centralizes orders and coordinates their processing across sales channels and logistics sites.
WMS
Warehouse Management System. A warehouse management tool that manages order fulfillment, inventory, receiving, and on-site operations.
TMS
Transport Management System. A tool that manages carrier selection, label printing, and shipment tracking.
Taxes & Duties
Taxes and customs duties applied to international sales.