How to expand your e-commerce business into foreign markets

A translated website and a .de domain aren’t enough to enter a new market. Michał Zabielski illustrates this with a car parts supplier who added an English version and a German domain and still only got small orders, an audit later showed the strategy was at fault, not the product.

Six factors that decide whether expansion works

1. Strategic fit: expansion needs to serve long-term business goals, not act as a quick cash injection.
2. Cultural context and market research: local payment preferences, shipping habits, and buying behaviour.
3. Customer journey: every touchpoint needs localising, not just the homepage.
4. Product content: roughly 40% of customers won’t buy if the content isn’t professionally translated and culturally adapted.
5. Payments and logistics partners: local operators that support the market, iDeal for Benelux, BLIK for Poland.
6. Customer support: post-sale service in the right language and channel.

A lower-risk way to test the water

Before committing to full expansion, Zabielski recommends validating demand through marketplaces, Amazon, Allegro, eBay, which cuts the financial risk of finding out a market doesn’t respond the way you expected.

Planning international expansion and don’t want to repeat the translated-website-only mistake? Get in touch with Endora.