An e-commerce launch fails on small things: a payment method customers expect and cannot find, an address form that will not accept a local format, or a delivery promise the carrier never agreed to. Each is trivial to fix beforehand and expensive to fix after launch.
Work through this before opening the storefront in a new market.
Payments
- Enable the local wallets and bank transfer methods customers actually use, not just cards.
- Decide on cash on delivery deliberately, with a refusal-rate plan if you offer it.
- Support instalment payments where they are a normal purchase mechanic in the market.
- Test the full refund path, not just the payment path.
- Confirm settlement currency, timing and the fee schedule per method.
Addresses and delivery promise
- Use the local address format, including province or barangay-level fields where relevant.
- Offer a map pin where the market relies on it more than on street addresses.
- State a delivery window that matches the carrier's actual service level, per zone.
- Publish an accurate cut-off time and honour it.
- Enable pick-up point or locker delivery where it is a mainstream option.
Pricing, tax and content
- Display prices in the local currency with the local tax convention.
- Localise size charts, measurements and units.
- Translate properly, machine translation of product content damages conversion and trust.
- Show total cost including shipping before the final step of checkout.
Post-purchase
- Order confirmation and dispatch messaging via the channel customers use locally.
- A returns process with a working local address and a clear timeline.
- Customer service coverage in the local language during local hours.
- A named owner for exceptions in the first four weeks.
Measurement from day one
| Metric | Why it matters at launch | Review cadence |
|---|---|---|
| Conversion by device | Mobile-first markets expose desktop-built flows | Daily for 4 weeks |
| Checkout drop-off by step | Finds broken fields and missing methods | Daily for 4 weeks |
| First-attempt delivery success | Exposes address and carrier issues early | Weekly |
| Contribution per order | Prevents scaling an unprofitable channel | Weekly |
| Return rate by category | Signals content and sizing problems | Monthly |
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