Should I start a worlwide or local shop ?

[poufpouf]

Hello,

I sell Japanese apparels.

I wanted to know what you guys would recommend me for starting a new shopify business. An english store shipping worldwide or a local one (France).

I thought it would be better to have an international one, because the more people there is, the more sell I'll do. Turns out that all of my traffic is from India and I'm not sure there is a lot of conversion there. And I spent a lot on ads but I don't where my niche country is, so worldwide is expansive. I thought French target would have been too small. Default settings of my Instagram and Facebook app are located in France, I'm afraid that they're targeting France in my ads then.

So what do you recommend for a new business local/worldwide ?

And in my case, should I switch to French  ? (I spent $400 on ads, every social media and my website are in english)

Thank you

[JoesIdeas · Accepted solution]

I would start locally until you scale your systems and find your audience. Then international will be easier. I had business where we scaled internationally too fast and it ended up draining resources and diluted the focus.

International adds a few other challenges to navigate (customs, VAT, international shipping, learning different audiences and how to market to them, creating new messaging).

You can definitely allow international sales, but I think a narrow focus to start will help you gain a stronger hold in your native market first.

[Nick]

Hi @poufpouf,

Nick here from Shopify. Great question!

This is a difficult question for anyone to answer except you in many ways. There are pros and cons to both avenues. For me, a lot of it would depend on your shipping workflow and costs. If you have the ability to ship worldwide it could be worth exploring going with the international store, but for simplicity reasons, it might be easier to keep it local. Personally, I would look into finding my target market in terms of customer type and taking it from there. You can be available internationally but still like @JoesIdeas mentioned, but focus locally so you have the best of both worlds but also constantly researching your target market.

Shopify has a good guide going through what a target market is and how to define yours which I think you could find useful. You can see it here. 

Hope this helps! 

All the best, Nick

[theceo]

word wide is the best because you can reach more people 

[vinods]

Hello @poufpouf 

I am from Bombay India. Yes here there are good buyers but keep in mind the product.

I think you should first start online store for locals but yes if your product is really unique and you know it can be sold globally then you start other nations one be one (USA, UK Canada, EU) important is the product here.

Example Japanese Kimonos, Bed sheets - are sold worldwide just as an example so you know it depends on the product. Hwne you target non Eng Speaking then you spend on translation of language.

If you can share on my email further we can talk i mean about the store about the products you are selling. etc so i can guide you about the country targeting and niche.

Do not spend on Ads without thinking it can be a pinch on your wallet.

Thanks

Vinod