By Troy Brown, Demandware Retail Practice

At the Strategy and Innovation Forum in Orlando this month, we discussed the challenges, complexities, and upside of extending your geographic brand reach and growing your ecommerce business via international expansion. Special thanks to Jim Okamura, Michael Ross, Jake Bailey and Michael Amar for their contributions!

Ellen Davis wrote a quick summary of the panel discussion here. If you are interested in international ecommerce expansion, the panel has compiled 19 white papers and information sources, over 41MB of data, that should be helpful to you (see below for link).

1. 1. Almost all global ecommerce markets are growing significantly faster than the U.S.
2. 2. The opportunity is expanding from Europe to Asia quickly as those markets mature and grow.
3. 3. International ecommerce is within reach of every retailer, even if you don't have a global brand.
4. 4. There are a wide variety of front-end and back-end operating models available to you.
5. 5. Ask a lot questions and get help.
6. 6. Start early and assume it will take longer than you think.
7. 7. Leverage in-region resources and infrastructure if you have them.
8. 8. Think through the organizational and operational implications of a "live" site before you launch.
9. 9. Find qualified legal advice to help you understand and comply with local requirements.
10. 10. It may be complex, but it can be rewarding for those who persevere.

Enjoy the Mountain of Resource:

Shop.org has created a special page for all of this information. It can be found by clicking here.

1. 1. Shop.org SI Forum International Expansion Session Slides
2. 2. Shop.org SI Forum International Expansion Session Handout (Large File)
3. 3. Demandware White Paper - Increase Your Global Reach
4. 4. CyberSource 2009 ePayment Project Guide
5. 5. CyberSource Insiders Guide to ePayment Management
6. 6. CyberSource Fraud Report
7. 7. CyberSource Global Payments White Paper
8. 8. FiftyOne Anthropologie Case Study
9. 9. FiftyOne Datasheet
10. 10. GPI White Paper - Argentina
11. 11. GPI White Paper - Brazil
12. 12. GPI White Paper - China
13. 13. GPI White Paper - France
14. 14. GPI White Paper - Germany
15. 15. GPI White Paper - India
16. 16. GPI White Paper - Japan
17. 17. GPI White Paper - UAB
18. 18. GPI White Paper - UK
19. 19. GPI White Paper - US Hispanic Market

Good luck everyone and let any of the panelists know if we can be of assistance!