Shopify Markets vs Expansion Stores: How to Choose the Right Global Setup for Your Brand

When a client approaches New Site Agency to start a new Shopify project, our first step is always the same, we look closely at the business itself. Before any design or development work begins, we take the time to understand how the business operates today, where it’s currently trading, and what the future growth strategy looks like.

We review current revenues, projections, and team structure, and map out where the business plans to expand next. This discovery phase isn’t just about numbers, it’s about identifying whether the business is ready for Shopify Markets or if Expansion Stores are a better fit for their global ambitions. Making this decision early helps prevent costly rework later, migrating from one setup to another can be complex, especially for growing brands with active sales channels, multiple apps, and localised SEO.

Understanding the Two Options

Before we recommend an approach, let’s break down the difference between Shopify Markets and Expansion Stores.

Shopify Markets — One Store, Multiple Markets

Shopify Markets allows brands to manage multiple regions within a single Shopify Plus store. It’s a powerful, centralised approach designed for brands that want to grow internationally without duplicating admin, apps, and themes.

Key advantages:

• Manage all countries, currencies, and languages from one admin.

• Route payouts to multiple legal entities with Shopify Payments.

• Offer automatic localisation with region-specific content and checkout.

• Centralise tax, duties, and shipping settings per market.

• Benefit from unified apps, integrations, and theme releases.

• Automatically generate hreflang tags and per-domain sitemaps for SEO.

• Reduce operational overhead with one codebase and governance model.

When it’s best:

• Your catalogue is largely shared across all regions.

• You want to test a new market before committing to a full store.

• You need a fast and cost-effective international rollout.

• You prefer consistent brand control and centralised management.

Expansion Stores — Multiple Stores, Full Autonomy

Expansion Stores are separate Shopify stores under the same Plus organisation. You can run up to ten production stores (one main and nine expansions) at no extra licence cost. Each operates independently with its own checkout, apps, and configurations.

Key advantages:

• Full autonomy for regional teams to manage content and campaigns.

• Independent Shopify Payments setup and local bank accounts.

• Separate legal and tax environments per region.

• Flexible tech stacks, unique integrations, ORPs, ERPs, or 3PLs per store.

• Dedicated setups for B2B, wholesale, VIP, or retail-only channels.

• Freedom to customise themes, apps, and workflows regionally.

When it’s best:

• You operate with independent P&Ls or regional legal entities.

• Each region has unique catalogues, pricing, or fulfilment models.

• You rely on regional gateways or alternative payment methods.

• Local teams need independent release cycles and store-level control.

• You’re managing regulated or highly localised trading environments.

Shopify Markets vs Expansion Stores: Comparison Table

How We Help You Decide

At New Site Agency, we don’t take a “one size fits all” approach. Every brand’s international setup should align with its business model, operations, and growth trajectory.

1. Discovery and Business Review

We begin by reviewing your current Shopify setup, revenues, and forecasted growth. We assess where your customers are based, the markets you plan to enter next, and your legal and financial structure. This helps us determine whether you can operate under one entity using Shopify Markets or if you need regional separation through Expansion Stores.

2. Technical and App Audit

We review your tech stack — including all apps, integrations, and connected systems — to see if they support Shopify Markets or need a store-specific configuration. For example, we look at whether your subscription or loyalty app supports multiple currencies and languages, if your ERP or 3PL integrations are market-aware, and if your marketing tools and analytics work across multiple storefronts.

3. SEO and Domain Planning

We ensure that your international domain strategy is scalable. Whether you use subfolders (/uk/), subdomains (uk.example.com), or country domains (example.co.uk), we plan the best structure to support both performance and ranking.

4. Cost Modelling

We run a side-by-side analysis of total cost of ownership for both setups, including app subscriptions, integration licences, QA and release management time, and ongoing maintenance. Our goal is to ensure you’re not overspending on duplicated infrastructure when a unified Markets setup could deliver the same results more efficiently.

5. Recommendation and Roadmap

Finally, we provide a clear recommendation — Markets, Expansion Stores, or a hybrid approach — backed by a roadmap outlining timelines, setup, and long-term scalability.

Common Hybrid Example

Many enterprise merchants find success using a hybrid approach. For example, EU and UK might operate under one store using Shopify Markets, while the US has a dedicated Expansion Store for tax and fulfilment, and a B2B store runs separately using Shopify’s B2B tools. This gives the agility of Markets for most regions with the flexibility of Expansion Stores where needed.

Why Deciding Early Matters

Choosing the right structure early on saves time, cost, and technical debt. Migrating from multiple stores to a single Markets setup (or vice versa) later can involve SEO risks from URL changes, app and data re-integration, customer and order data migration, and manual reconfiguration of discounts, content, and reports. By aligning your business goals and technology from the start, you ensure your international Shopify setup is built for the long term.

Final Thoughts

Shopify is clearly investing in a single-storefront future through Shopify Markets, but Expansion Stores will continue to play an important role for businesses with complex, regulated, or region-specific needs.

At New Site Agency, we help brands make this decision strategically, using data, revenue projections, and real operational requirements, so you can scale globally without replatforming twice. If you’re planning to expand into new regions or consolidate multiple Shopify stores, our experts can help you choose the right approach and implement it properly from day one.

Ready to explore your international strategy? Get in touch with our Shopify Plus experts at hello@newsiteagency.com or visit newsiteagency.com/contact.