What exactly will change as a result of the amendment
In simple terms, DDU means that an international order is shipped without all import charges having been settled in advance. As a result, customers may still have to pay customs duties, import taxes, or other fees when they receive the package.
With DDP, however, these costs are accounted for before delivery. With Managed Markets, customers in supported regions pay the applicable customs duties and import taxes during checkout. As a rule, the shipping carrier or customs authorities will not charge them again upon delivery.
Since August 24, a clear rule has been in effect for Managed Markets.
If Managed Markets supports DDP for a country or region, DDU will no longer be offered there.
Markets that previously used DDU or inherited this setting from a parent market were automatically switched to DDP. DDU remains in place only where Managed Markets does not support DDP.
What DDP Is and What It Is Not
DDP changes when import costs are incurred
The most noticeable difference lies in when customers are confronted with the costs.
For example, a customer from an international market orders a product for 180 euros.
With a cash-on-delivery model, the customer initially sees the product price and shipping costs in the shop. A few days later, the shipping provider also charges import duties.
With DDP, the relevant import costs are taken into account before the order is placed. This allows the customer to see the total cost of the international order in advance.
DDP does not automatically mean free customs clearance
Import costs do not disappear with DDP.
They are simply calculated, displayed, and processed differently. Depending on the settings, the costs may be included in the international product price or shown separately during the purchase process.
Managed Markets can dynamically include customs duties and taxes in international prices. According to Shopify, this setting is enabled by default. When it is used, customers see a price that already includes these costs.
DDP does not guarantee the absence of incorrect product data
The calculation still depends on information about the product and the destination country.
Product classification and country of origin are particularly important. Managed Markets can automatically assign HS codes and adapt them to country-specific requirements. However, Shopify explicitly notes that merchants remain responsible for ensuring that their products’ countries of origin are correct.
So, even with Managed Markets, incorrect country-of-origin information remains a data issue.
Requirements and data basis
Check whether Managed Markets is actually being used
The change affects Shopify Managed Markets.
This is not the same as the standard Shopify Markets features. With Managed Markets, Global-e acts as the Merchant of Record and handles, among other things, aspects of tax remittance, customs processes, commercial invoices, and agreements with shipping carriers.
A store that only uses Shopify Markets and collects international customs duties itself should evaluate its configuration separately.
Countries of origin must be correct
Shopify explicitly states that providing the correct countries of origin is the merchant's responsibility.
For an international product range, it is therefore not enough to check whether a product is shipped from Germany. What matters is the actual country of origin of the goods.
A T-shirt stored in Germany but manufactured in Vietnam does not thereby become a product of German origin.
HS codes should be checked
HS codes classify goods for international trade.
Managed Markets can assign these codes automatically. However, for critical or high-value product categories, it is still advisable to review the classification. Different categories of goods may be subject to different customs duty rates.
Fulfillment and external systems must understand DDP
Especially for larger stores, the process doesn't end in the Shopify admin.
Also frequently involved are
- ERP
- Inventory Management
- 3PL
- Warehouse Management System
- Shipping platform
- Returns platform
- Customer Service
- custom middleware
These systems must be able to recognize that an order is already being processed under the DDP model.
Otherwise, in the worst-case scenario, the very problem that DDP is intended to prevent may occur: customers pay import charges at checkout and are later asked to pay them again by the shipping carrier.
Shopify also notes that, for the general collection of customs duties, the shipping carriers and integrations involved must support DDP.
How to check the change in the Shopify admin
Since the transition has already taken place automatically, existing shops no longer need to initiate it manually. What matters now is checking the current status.
Review affected markets
In the Shopify admin, go to Markets.
Review the key international markets one by one and check whether Managed Markets is active in each of them.
Prioritize high-revenue countries and markets that operated under DDU before August 24.
Check the display of taxes and customs duties
Then open the tax and customs duty settings for the relevant market.
Managed Markets can dynamically include customs duties and taxes in international pricing. If this setting is disabled, other options for displaying them during checkout may be available, depending on your configuration.
What matters is not only that the calculation works technically.
Before making a purchase, the customer should be able to determine whether import costs are already included.
Test checkout for key target countries
An international checkout process should be tested from the perspective of a real customer.
If Canada is a relevant market, test, for example
- Canadian shipping address
- typical product
- realistic cart size
- available payment method
- international shipping method
- displayed taxes and customs duties
- final total price
The same should be repeated for the most important target countries.
Check product data
Pay particular attention to high-revenue products and products subject to customs regulations.
Of particular relevance are
- Country of origin
- Product description
- Product category
- HS-Code
- Variants
- Product weight
Managed Markets handles part of the customs classification process. However, incorrect master data still poses a risk.
Test fulfillment
A test should not end after checkout.
Track at least one test order through to the fulfillment system and verify that DDP is correctly recognized and passed on.
When working with external 3PLs, it should be clarified which customs information Shopify or Managed Markets provides and what additional data the warehouse requires.
Which operational logic determines costs and customer experience
DDP does not automatically shift the costs to the seller
DDP is sometimes understood to mean that the shop has to pay all customs costs out of its own margin.
That is not necessarily the case.
With Managed Markets, customs duties and taxes can be included in international prices. The customer still ultimately bears these costs, but sees them before or during checkout rather than only when the package arrives at their door.
The pricing strategy determines how it is perceived
Let's consider two shops with identical import costs.
Shop A displays a product for 100 euros and later adds additional import charges.
Shop B already includes some of these costs in its international price.
The total economic costs may be similar. Nevertheless, the purchasing process feels different to customers.
Therefore, the transition to DDP should be considered in conjunction with the international pricing strategy.
Managed Markets itself incurs fees
Managed Markets is not a free customs service.
Shopify currently lists a Managed Markets transaction fee of 3.25 percent for Shopify Plus and 3.5 percent for Basic, Grow, and Advanced. An additional 1.5 percent fee applies to currency conversions. The applicable Shopify Payments processing fees are charged on top of this.
These values reflect the currently available Shopify documentation and are subject to change.
For enterprise stores, conversion should therefore not be the only metric considered. What matters is the contribution margin after international payment, customs, shipping, and Managed Markets costs.
Typical Practical Applications
International D2C Store
A German fashion retailer has strong sales in the United States, Canada, and Switzerland.
Previously, some customers would see an attractive price in the shop, only to receive an additional charge from the shipping provider later. With DDP, import costs are factored in upfront.
As a result, a different metric becomes important for the e-commerce team.
Not only should checkout conversion be considered, but also
- Acceptance rate of international parcels
- Returns
- Support requests regarding customs fees
- Contribution Margin per Market
- average order value
International Shop with 3PL
A merchant uses Shopify for sales, an ERP system for orders, and an external 3PL provider for fulfillment.
Switching to DDP here is not simply a matter of changing a Shopify setting.
The process only works properly if the information is passed all the way through to fulfillment. The team should therefore trace at least one order from checkout through the ERP and 3PL systems to the shipping label.
B2B-Shop
In B2B, individual orders can have significantly higher values.
Even a single incorrectly calculated customs duty rate can result in a significant discrepancy. At the same time, businesses may have different requirements for invoices, tax treatment, and import processes than D2C customers.
With Shopify Plus using B2B and Markets, market inheritance and differing settings for B2B markets should therefore be reviewed separately. In its general customs configuration, Shopify allows different settings for primary B2B markets and subordina
Rules for D2C, International Expansion, and B2B
D2C
Rule
If a market supports DDP, the displayed final price must be reviewed primarily from the customer's perspective.
The most important questions are
- Does the customer understand that import costs have already been taken into account?
- Does the conversion rate change?
- Does the average order value change?
- Are support requests regarding customs claims declining?
International Expansion
Rule
When a new market is activated, the product data and customs process must be reviewed before committing the first major campaign budget.
A country should not be considered technically complete just because its language, domain, and currency work.
Customs, origin data, fulfillment, and returns are also part of the market launch.
B2B
Rule
If B2B customers have different tax or logistics requirements, the D2C configuration should not be adopted without review.
Test B2B markets using realistic shopping carts, with particular attention to market inheritance, customs handling, and downstream ERP processes.
Short communication examples
The exact communication depends on the market and your own setup. These examples are therefore intentionally phrased in general terms.
Shipping page
Import duties and taxes are included at checkout for supported delivery countries, so no additional customs payment is generally required upon delivery.
Customer service
Your import duties and taxes were already included during checkout. If the shipping carrier still requests an additional payment, please send us the relevant notification.
International Product Page
For supported international markets, customs duties and import taxes are accounted for before delivery.
Such texts should only be published after it has been verified that they are actually applicable to the respective markets.
When DDP makes sense and when a closer review is needed
Useful for predictable international D2C operations
DDP is particularly useful when customers expect the clearest possible all-inclusive price.
This applies, for example, to fashion, beauty, consumer electronics, and other D2C categories with standardized shipping processes.
Useful when handling a large number of international support cases
If customers regularly ask about additional customs charges or refuse packages due to unexpected fees, accounting for these costs earlier can simplify the process.
Shopify specifically cites avoiding unexpected costs upon delivery as one of the benefits of DDP.
Take a closer look at complex B2B cases
For B2B orders, importer roles, tax exemptions, individual agreements, and in-house logistics processes may be relevant.
DDP should not be evaluated solely from a checkout perspective here.
Conduct a more thorough review when using your own international infrastructure
Companies with their own customs processes, local entities, or specialized 3PL structures should assess whether Managed Markets is compatible with their desired operating model.
Merchants in a DDP-enabled market who still want customers to pay duties upon delivery must disable Managed Markets for that market. Shopify allows Managed Markets to be disabled on a per-market basis without requiring it to be turned off for the entire store.
Mistakes to avoid
Simply ignore the automatic switch
Shopify has already automatically migrated the affected Managed Markets markets.
As a result, a shop may now use different customs logic than it did at the beginning of August.
Be sure to examine key international markets, not just the domestic market.
Treat DDU and DDP solely as a checkout topic
This setting affects fulfillment, shipping, and customer service.
If a 3PL continues to assume that import duties are unpaid, even a technically correct checkout can still result in a poor customer experience.
Confusing the country of origin with the warehouse location
The country of origin does not indicate which warehouse the package is shipped from.
For customs clearance, the product's actual country of origin must be recorded correctly.
Do not recheck international prices
When customs duties and Managed Markets costs are factored into international prices, your price positioning relative to competitors may change.
Therefore, not only technical tests but also price comparisons should be carried out in the key markets.
Use only the cheapest test shopping cart
Customs duties may vary depending on the value of the goods and the product category.
Therefore, test several realistic shopping carts.
Treat B2B and D2C equally
A D2C process may be unsuitable for B2B.
For higher-value purchases and more complex tax requirements, B2B orders should be tested separately.
Moving Primates Perspective
In international Shopify projects, the risk often lies not in a single incorrect setting, but in conflicting assumptions between the store, ERP, and fulfillment systems. The checkout already treats an order as DDP, while a downstream system still expects payment upon delivery. This can result in customers facing duplicate or unexpected customs charges. A proven approach is therefore to conduct an end-to-end test for each key market. This involves tracking a real order from checkout through payment processing and the ERP system all the way to the shipping label. The transition should only be considered complete once all systems use the same customs logic.
Technical Implications for Larger Stores
Checkout is only the beginning of the data flow
For a simple store, Managed Markets can handle many of the steps.
In enterprise architectures, however, an order is often passed through multiple systems.
A typical data flow might look like this
Shopify Checkout
→ Shopify Order
→ Middleware
→ ERP
→ 3PL
→ Shipping Carrier
Every handoff is a potential point of failure.
ERP and 3PL should clearly recognize DDP
Check which fields and order information the connected systems actually receive.
The central question is
The fulfillment system clearly recognizes that the import costs are already being handled under the DDP model.
If not, the integration must be adjusted or the process must be safeguarded in another way.
Product data becomes compliance data
Country of origin and product classification should not be treated as optional content fields.
In international enterprise commerce, they affect costs and customs clearance.
Changes to this data should therefore be subject to controls similar to those applied to prices or tax rates.
Market inheritance needs to be tested
Larger Shopify setups often use primary markets and submarkets.
This allows settings to be inherited. The original DDU change explicitly also affected markets that used DDU through inheritance.
Therefore, do not check only individually configured markets.
Headless does not change the customs rules
A Hydrogen, Next.js, or other headless storefront does not change the fundamental customs treatment provided by Managed Markets.
However, your own storefront must still ensure that prices and checkout handoffs are presented consistently.
Especially when using custom pricing or cart components, you should test whether customers see any conflicting information about taxes and customs duties before checkout.
Monitoring should continue after go-live
The technical review should not end with a successful test order.
For the first few weeks after making a change, these signals, among others, can be helpful
- unusual international checkout abandonment
- Support Tickets Regarding Customs Fees
- rejected packages
- additional claims by shipping service providers
- Discrepancies between checkout and ERP
- Margin changes by market
Checklist after the DDU conversion
- Check which international markets Managed Markets is active in
- Check which of these markets now use DDP
- Review international pricing and the display of customs fees
- Check the countries of origin of important products
- Check HS codes and/or product classifications
- Test checkout using realistic addresses from key target countries
- Track DDP information through to ERP and 3PL
- Complete at least one full test order through to shipment
- Test B2B and D2C separately if both business models are used
- Monitor support, conversion, returns, and contribution margin by market
Summary
- As of August 24, 2026, Managed Markets no longer supports DDU when DDP is available for the relevant market.
- Affected markets were automatically switched to DDP.
- DDU will remain in place only in regions where Managed Markets does not support DDP.
- With DDP, import duties are accounted for before delivery.
- The costs do not disappear as a result; instead, they are incorporated earlier in the purchasing process.
- Managed Markets can dynamically incorporate customs duties and taxes into international prices.
- Merchants remain responsible for ensuring that their products' countries of origin are correct.
- Enterprise stores should test ERP, 3PL, and shipping processes together with the checkout.
- To continue offering cash on delivery in a DDP-enabled market, you must disable Managed Markets for that market.
- The impact should be assessed separately for D2C, B2B, and different international markets.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does DDP mean in Shopify Managed Markets?
DDP stands for Delivered Duty Paid. With Managed Markets, customs duties and import taxes in supported markets are included during checkout rather than being charged upon delivery.
Does Shopify Managed Markets still support DDU?
Yes, but only where Managed Markets does not support DDP. In all DDP-enabled countries and regions, support for DDU ended on August 24, 2026.
Do I have to activate the switch myself?
No. According to Shopify, markets that used or inherited DDU were automatically switched to DDP wherever DDP is supported. Nevertheless, stores should review their settings and downstream processes.
Can I still have customs duties paid upon delivery?
Not in a DDP-enabled Managed Markets market, as long as Managed Markets is active there. Shopify notes that Managed Markets must be disabled for that market if customers are to continue paying upon delivery.
Which product data is important for DDP?
The country of origin and product classification are particularly important. Managed Markets can assign HS codes automatically, but merchants remain responsible for providing accurate country-of-origin information.
Is DDP automatically cheaper?
No. DDP primarily changes how import costs are handled and when they are accounted for. Whether a market becomes more economically attractive depends on factors such as prices, customs duties, Managed Markets fees, shipping costs, and conversion rates.
List of links
Shopify changelog on the discontinuation of DDU support
Managed Markets is ending Delivered Duty Unpaid support
Official announcement of the transition dated August 11, 2026.
Shopify Help Center on Managed Markets requirements
Requirements and guidelines for using Managed Markets
Explains, among other things, the current DDP and DDU logic as well as responsibility for countries of origin.
Shopify Help Center overview of Managed Markets
Contains information about the Merchant of Record, HS codes, fees, and how it works in general.
Shopify Help Center on deactivating Managed Markets
Describes how to disable Managed Markets for an individual market or the entire store.
Shopify Help Center on customs duties and import taxes
Customs duties and import taxes
Explains DDP, international customs procedures, and relevant product data.
Shopify Help Center on international pricing
International pricing for Managed Markets
Describes how customs duties, taxes, and Managed Markets costs can be reflected in international prices.
