Not every product ships everywhere, and not every market wants the same things. A store selling both in the US and the EU might have products that are only available domestically (due to shipping restrictions, regulations, or licensing), promotional campaigns that differ by region, and seasonal collections that don’t apply globally (back-to-school timing differs between hemispheres).
When the catalog or marketing differs between markets, the navigation should reflect those differences. Showing a product that can’t ship to the visitor’s country is worse than not showing it at all — it creates frustration when the visitor discovers at checkout that their order can’t be fulfilled.
Filtering products by market
Shopify Markets allows stores to define which products are available in which markets. When a visitor is detected as being in a specific market, the product catalog is automatically filtered. Products not available in that market don’t appear in collections or search results.
This catalog filtering should extend to navigation. If a mega menu features specific products (images, “bestseller” highlights), those featured products should be available in the visitor’s market. Featuring a product that the visitor can’t buy is not just useless — it’s actively frustrating.
With Navi+, menu items can be configured per market. A featured product in the mega menu can be different for US visitors versus EU visitors. A promotional banner in the slide menu can show market-specific offers. This level of customization requires some setup but significantly improves the international shopping experience.
Market-specific featured collections
Different markets respond to different promotions. A “Summer Sale” in June resonates in the northern hemisphere but not in Australia (where it’s winter). “Black Friday” is massive in the US but less relevant in some Asian markets. National holidays, cultural events, and seasonal patterns differ.
Creating market-specific featured collections and surfacing them in the navigation for the appropriate market makes the store feel locally relevant. The French visitor sees “Soldes d’été” while the American visitor sees “Summer Sale” — same concept, market-appropriate presentation.
Shipping and availability indicators
When regional catalog filtering isn’t possible (the store sells globally without market restrictions), navigation can include shipping indicators. A small badge on menu items — “Ships to EU” or “US only” — tells the visitor before they click whether the product category is relevant to them.
This is a lighter alternative to full market-specific catalogs. The visitor can still see all products, but the indicators help them focus on what’s actually available for purchase and delivery to their location.
This article is part of the larger guide on Navigation for international stores: language, currency, and regional catalogs.