There’s a slowdown in domestic e-commerce, and brands that are ready and able to service international consumers with a premium experience have been able to offset some of that trend, says Ahmed Naiem, chief commercial officer at e-commerce service provider ESW.

Often, sites that sell consumer goods internationally don’t offer tracking or even accurate estimates of time to delivery. Making the process indistinguishable from a domestic online purchase is an important way to keep sales healthy. 

American e-commerce companies have tended to rely heavily on sales in Canada, the U.K. and Australia for international sales, and growth there is still in the low double digits. But there has been significant growth — in many cases, in the triple digits — in emerging markets, particularly where there's a younger demographic, says Naiem. These include Mexico, Latin America, Southeast Asia, India and the Middle East, particularly the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. “There’s been just phenomenal growth, year over year, for brands,” he says. “And that has really helped offset some of the slowdown in other traditionally large markets.”

E-commerce technology is also enabling the international direct-to-consumer market. The brands that are dipping their toe in it are seeing between 10% and 15% of their overall direct-to-consumer traffic and volume coming from international consumers. “But as they mature, as they start to really optimize the experience for the consumer around the world, they're going as high as 50%,” says Naiem. “And the more the successful the brand, the higher the diversification outside of their domestic market.”

There are challenges. For a brand to harness the opportunity, it has to make sure it has the right technology. “How do I get the right payment offering? How do I get the right logistics and returns model? How do I continue to engage with [consumers] in different social channels?” says Naiem. “I think that gets quite complex, and this is where looking at the right strategic partnerships can really help.”