Moving a European store to Shopify.
Europe is one market on a map and many in practice: different VAT rules, languages, favourite payment methods and consumer laws. This is what we plan for before a European store goes live on Shopify.
EU VAT and OSS
Below €10,000 a year in sales to other EU countries, your home VAT rate can apply. Above it, you charge each customer's country rate, through the One-Stop Shop (OSS) or local registrations. In Shopify you enter your registrations under Taxes and duties. Watching the threshold and filing stay your responsibility, so involve your tax adviser.
Languages and currencies
Shopify Markets sets languages and currencies per country. Each published language gets its own URLs, and checkout and emails follow the customer's language. Translations are done in the Translate & Adapt app (manually or with Shopify's AI translations), by CSV, or with a translation app.
Consumer law
EU shoppers generally have a 14-day right of withdrawal for online purchases, and your terms, withdrawal policy and checkout must say so clearly. Several countries add their own rules, which our region guides cover.
Privacy and consent
GDPR applies to customer data, and analytics or marketing tracking needs consent where the law requires it. We set up Shopify's customer privacy settings and a consent banner, and make sure apps respect the choice.
How Europeans like to pay.
Shopify Payments supports these local methods for customers in the listed countries. What you can offer depends on your store's country, currency and eligibility, which we confirm in planning.
What's different country by country.
European store questions.
One store with several languages, or a store per country?
Most stores start with one Shopify store and Markets for each country: shared products, local languages, currencies and domains. Separate stores make sense when catalogs, pricing or teams are very different. We recommend one after the audit.
Do you handle our VAT registrations?
No. We set up taxes in Shopify to match the registrations you have. Registration and filing are for you and your tax adviser.
Can you keep our country domains, like .de or .fr?
Yes. Country domains or subfolders can be assigned to markets, and old URLs on each domain are redirected.
Planning a move to Shopify?
Tell us about your store. You get a written plan with scope, timeline and cost within two business days.
Plan my migration