Did you know that, according to Shopify, 92% of global consumers prefer shopping in their local currency? This statistic highlights a critical point for eCommerce businesses: if you’re only selling in dollars, rupees, yen, or euros, you’re unintentionally turning away customers from other parts of the world.
Fortunately, the days of struggling to trade globally are behind us. Today, enabling seamless international transactions is as simple as implementing the right features into your Shopify store.
One such feature is multicurrency support—allowing customers to shop and pay in their preferred currency. It’s an important piece of eCommerce localization, helping brands expand their reach, build trust, and ultimately drive higher sales.
In this guide, we’ll explore everything you need to know about Shopify multicurrency, why it’s vital for exponential growth, and how you can integrate it effortlessly into your Shopify mobile app to create a global shopping experience.
Let’s dive right in!
Benefits of enabling multi-currency in your Shopify mobile app
Here are the benefits you can see if you choose to enable the multi-currency feature on your eCommerce mobile app:
1. Increase in conversion rate
Customers are more likely to complete a purchase when they see prices in their local currency. Displaying familiar currency eliminates the extra mental effort of conversion, leading to a smoother shopping experience and a significant boost in conversion rates.
2. Reduced stress around payment
Paying in foreign currencies often comes with uncertainty about exchange rates and additional bank charges.
If you’re habitual to buying in dollars and see an item on flash sale in rupees — by the time you convert the cost, the sale might be over (pun intended)!
Multi-currency features take away this stress by providing upfront clarity on the total cost, making customers more confident in completing their purchases.
3. Build trust and satisfaction among international customers
Trust is essential for cross-border eCommerce. Offering local currency options demonstrates that your brand values international shoppers and understands their needs. And when you personalize things for them, they know that you actually care about doing business with them. This leads to long-term customer satisfaction and loyalty.
4. Fewer cancellations due to cost confusion
Unexpected price differences due to exchange rates or additional fees can lead to cancellations. Let’s say someone does place an order expecting that they’ll only be charged the converted rates, but your payment portal or the bank charges additional fees to process the transaction. This would come as a shocker to the customer.
By showing exact prices in the customer’s currency during checkout, you eliminate surprises, reducing the likelihood of order cancellations.
5. Lower cart abandonment rates
One of the top reasons for cart abandonment is unclear pricing. Even when customers really like the product, if the pricing on the checkout page is unclear, they won’t complete it!
Multi-currency support provides clarity, ensuring that customers feel confident about the total cost. This reduces the likelihood of shoppers leaving their carts behind.
6. Access to custom pricing based on locations
Multi-currency capabilities allow you to set custom pricing for different regions. This flexibility ensures competitive pricing across markets, lets you account for local taxes or duties, and helps optimize profit margins globally.
As mobile shopping continues to grow, eCommerce businesses must provide a seamless and localized experience.
Enabling multi-currency support in your Shopify mobile app ensures that international shoppers feel catered to, which is vital for scaling your business in a competitive global marketplace.
Challenges with Shopify multicurrency
While enabling multi-currency in your Shopify mobile app has undeniable benefits, it’s not without its challenges.
Adapting to a global audience means dealing with complexities, but managing these hurdles is an integral part of scaling your eCommerce business.
1. Changes in currency valuations
Currency exchange rates are dynamic and fluctuate frequently. This variability can affect your pricing strategy and profit margins. Staying competitive while maintaining profitability requires constant monitoring and adjustment to reflect the latest valuations accurately.
2. Accounting process changes
Introducing multi-currency support can complicate your accounting processes. Reconciling payments, taxes, and revenue in multiple currencies requires robust systems and tools to ensure accurate financial reporting. Businesses need to invest in proper tools or expertise to manage this transition effectively.
3. Higher cost of maintenance
Implementing and maintaining a multi-currency setup involves additional costs. From advanced Shopify plans and third-party apps to infrastructure for managing exchange rates, there’s an upfront investment and recurring expenses to consider.
While these challenges might seem daunting, they are manageable with the right strategies and tools.
More importantly, overcoming them is a necessary step in building a truly global eCommerce business capable of sustainable growth.
The multi-currency set-up for your Shopify store
Adding multi-currency capabilities to your Shopify store involves a simple setup process. Let’s see how you can enable and optimize this feature:
How do you enable the multi-currency feature in Shopify?
Shopify allows you to sell in over 130 currencies, making it a versatile platform for global eCommerce. However, the ability to customize prices for different regions is available only on Shopify Advanced and Shopify Plus plans.
To enable multi-currency, you have two options:
- Direct Configuration: You can modify your store settings directly in the Shopify admin. Shopify provides a step-by-step guide on their website to walk you through the process.
- Use a Currency Converter App: For a more user-friendly solution, install a Shopify-compatible currency converter app from the Shopify App Store. These apps handle the complexities of currency conversion seamlessly and are an excellent option for stores without advanced technical expertise.
Ways to display prices in different currencies
Once you’ve enabled the feature, the next step is deciding how to display prices:
- Manual Price Setting: This method gives you complete control over pricing. You manually calculate and set the exchange rates for each product. While this offers precision, it’s better suited for stores with smaller inventories due to the time involved.
- Automatic Price Conversion: For larger inventories, automatic pricing is more practical. Shopify automatically updates prices via API based on real-time exchange rates, ensuring accuracy and saving you time. While you relinquish some control over pricing, it’s ideal for managing large-scale operations efficiently.
Setting up multi-currency functionality helps enhance your store’s appeal and creates a personalized shopping experience for your global customers.
Should your Shopify mobile app/store change currency with location?
The short answer is YES! Adapting your currency to match the customer’s location can significantly enhance their shopping experience. If a region contributes over 5% of your customers, supporting its local currency becomes a logical step toward building trust and increasing conversions. There are two main approaches to achieving this:
- Duplicate Websites/Apps for Different Regions: This method involves creating separate Shopify mobile apps and stores tailored to each country. Using IP detection, visitors are directed to the localized version, complete with local currency pricing. While this is resource-intensive, it offers a highly personalized experience.
- Currency Switching on a Single Store: Alternatively, you can display all currency options on the same product page, allowing users to select their preference. This is simpler to implement and works well for stores with fewer resources or smaller budgets.
For duplicate stores, displaying local currency is essential to justify the investment. For single stores, a currency switcher ensures convenience, personalization, and higher customer satisfaction without additional infrastructure.
How to implement the eCommerce multi-currency feature in your app?
With Appbrew, integrating multi-currency functionality into your Shopify mobile app is seamless and efficient. By connecting directly with Shopify Markets, Appbrew automatically displays prices based on the user's location, detected through their IP address.
This means customers see prices in their local currency as soon as they open the app, providing a smoother and more personalized shopping experience.
The Multi-Currency feature also allows brands to customize prices for different countries, accounting for local economic conditions and consumer preferences. This flexibility helps retailers remain competitive in global markets while catering to the unique needs of their customers.
For example, Sukoshi Mart, a retailer specializing in Asian beauty products and K-pop merchandise, used Appbrew’s multi-currency support to expand into international markets. By enabling customers to shop in their local currency, the brand eliminated currency conversion concerns and significantly boosted its global sales.
Implementing this feature not only simplifies the shopping process but also drives higher conversions, reduces cart abandonment, and fosters trust with your international audience.
Sell on your app across the globe with Shopify and Appbrew!
If you’re serious about taking your Shopify store global, enabling the multi-currency feature is a non-negotiable step. Without it, you risk losing international customers and spending more time troubleshooting issues like abandoned carts and low conversion rates.
With Appbrew, a leading Shopify mobile app builder, you can ensure your app is equipped to cater to a global audience. Appbrew seamlessly integrates the multi-currency feature, allowing you to provide a localized and frictionless shopping experience for customers worldwide.
Whether it’s automatic price conversion or custom pricing for specific regions, Appbrew ensures your mobile app is ready to accept sales from every corner of the globe.
Don’t let currency barriers stand between your store and international growth. Book a demo with Appbrew today!
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