Expanding to US and European Markets: Advice Needed on Default Market Settings and Shopify Payments

[Khiwat]

Hello Shopify Community,

I’m currently running a Shopify store based in Pakistan, where my default currency and location are set to PKR. After a successful year, I’m planning to expand into the US and European markets. I have companies registered in both Pakistan and the USA under the same name.

When I attempted to open new markets and set different products and pricing for each market, Shopify prompted me to activate Shopify Payments. However, this requires changing my default company location to the US, and then opening the Pakistan and European markets afterward.

My main concern is the impact of changing the default store location. Specifically:

1. Will this affect the URLs that are already indexed on Google?
2. How will this shift impact my existing traffic and SEO?
3. Are there any best practices to ensure a smooth transition without losing current rankings?

I’m sure many of you have faced similar challenges. Any advice or insights on how to navigate this would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance for your help!