International Strategy

In episode 516 of Total Retail Talks, Editor-in-Chief Joe Keenan interviews Drew Cook, president of organic, sustainable apparel brand Pact, and Matthew Merrilees, CEO, North America at global e-commerce platform Global-e. Cook delves into the challenges of maintaining a successful international business amidst rising tariffs (3:36), while Merrilees discusses the common mistakes made amongst brands…

International e-commerce has always operated on a simple assumption: if an order was inexpensive, it could move across borders with little friction. That assumption is changing. On July 1, 2026, the European Union quietly eliminated its €150 duty-free threshold for imports, replacing it with a new customs duty structure that applies fees by product category…

Shoppers today have more unprecedented access to international brands, far beyond what was possible a decade ago. In fact, many consumers are using marketplaces, social platforms, and direct-to-consumer sites to purchase products halfway across the world. But access alone doesn't seal the deal. What I hear from retailers today is that the opportunity has never…

Nike is planning to cut off thousands of online distributors in China beginning in January as the sneaker giant looks to clean up what’s become a messy digital marketplace and get the region back to growth, the company said Tuesday. Starting next year, Nike’s online footprint will shift primarily to the retailer’s official website and…

The launch of Amazon Supply Chain Services reflects a broader shift in retail logistics. More retailers are moving away from fragmented arrangements and toward shared platforms that coordinate freight, warehousing, fulfilment and delivery at scale. For retailers, the platform approach is attractive because it can simplify fragmented fulfilment networks, meet rising delivery expectations, and support…

International retailers have spent the past year navigating a trade environment defined by constant change. Tariffs shifted with little warning. Customs requirements tightened across major markets. Carrier conditions fluctuated week to week, forcing e-commerce teams to adapt in real time while still meeting customer expectations for fast, reliable delivery. Many brands anticipated some level of…

A brand posts a TikTok video about its new perfume and watches it take off overnight. Thousands of orders pour in and it looks like the breakthrough every founder works towards. Then the fulfillment team realizes there’s an issue. Orders are open to both domestic and international buyers, but shipping the product overseas will cost…

As domestic markets mature and competition intensifies, retailers are increasingly looking beyond their home borders for growth. Cross-border e-commerce is no longer reserved for enterprise brands with unlimited budgets. It has become a viable and strategic expansion path for retailers of all sizes. In fact, global retail e-commerce sales are forecast to reach $6.8 trillion…

For retailers everywhere, a primary objective for achieving success in 2026 is converting global demand into revenue. In an interconnected world, your brand can be discovered by a global audience across platforms and languages. A consumer in Argentina, for example, may encounter your brand through an English search result automatically translated into Spanish, without any…

A Practical Playbook for Cross-Border E-Commerce