Why an international e-commerce platform makes sense for Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki is a second-largest city in greece, home to about 310,000 people, and one of the markets in Greece where we build international and multi-region stores.
Businesses here work in logistics, port and tech hub; many are based around the city centre and Thessaloniki Technology Park.
Logistics are supported by Thessaloniki Airport and port, which matters when you promise customers fast delivery.
Greece has SMEs make up 99% of all businesses in the European Union (European Commission). Greek shoppers research heavily on Skroutz and expect cash-on-delivery and IRIS options. Island delivery rules and Greek-language product content are important.
That is why more companies in Thessaloniki are moving from phone, WhatsApp and spreadsheet orders to a proper international e-commerce platform — one place where products, prices, payments, orders and customers are managed together.
Local details we build into every Thessaloniki project
A store that works in Thessaloniki respects local habits as well as local law. These are the details we configure first.
Currency and pricing
Everything a Thessaloniki shopper sees — price, tax, delivery fee, refund — is in EUR, written the local way.
Language and content
Storefront copy, product pages and emails can run in Greek, with local date and number formats.
Local trust signals
Trust is local: familiar names such as Visa and Mastercard and IRIS instant payments and ELTA Courier sit next to the buy button.
Domain, phone and contact
A .gr domain (or your own) builds local trust and search relevance. Click-to-call and WhatsApp buttons use the +30 calling code so customers reach you without dialling errors.
Talent and partners nearby
With Aristotle University of Thessaloniki close by, finding people to manage catalogues, content and support after launch is realistic in Thessaloniki.
Designed to your requirements, not a template
Your international e-commerce platform is planned, designed and coded for your business model — not adapted from someone else's — and it can ship with a customer or staff mobile app on day one.
In Thessaloniki we typically work with exporters, D2C brands expanding abroad, manufacturers selling to distributors overseas and diaspora-focused retailers, and with sellers in categories such as electronics, fashion, beauty and home that have strong online demand in Greece.
Before any commitment you get a free requirements meeting, a demo built on your use case and a proposal priced to your budget.
Features of your international e-commerce platform in Thessaloniki
Each module below is configured — or custom-developed — to your requirements. You choose what launches first and what follows in later phases.
Regional storefronts
Country or region sites with local language, content, currency, promotions and hreflang SEO. Delivery can be booked through ELTA Courier, ACS and Geniki Taxydromiki or dispatched by your own riders around Thessaloniki.
Local payments
Market-specific cards, wallets, bank transfers, BNPL and cash methods through suitable providers. Inventory can sit in Thessaloniki, in a partner warehouse or across Greece, with click-and-collect where customers want it.
Tax and duties
VAT, GST and sales-tax rules, tax-inclusive pricing, duties and landed-cost estimates where needed. Reports show which products, customers and areas of Thessaloniki drive revenue.
Cross-border shipping
International couriers, regional warehouses, shipping zones, customs documents and returns. Content and design can follow how customers in Thessaloniki search and buy, including Greek where you need it.
Compliance pages
Market-appropriate privacy notices, cookie consent, consumer terms and accessibility considerations. Catalogues come in from spreadsheets, ERP exports or supplier feeds, so your Thessaloniki team keeps its current way of working.
Regional reporting
Sales, margin, conversion and marketing performance by country and currency. Checkout is configured for Visa and Mastercard, IRIS instant payments and PayPal.
Getting paid online in Thessaloniki
A store that serves Thessaloniki should let customers pay the way they do offline: Visa and Mastercard, IRIS instant payments, PayPal and cash on delivery (antikatavoli).
Gateway selection depends on your category and merchant approval; we connect the provider, reconcile payments, automate retries and refunds, and never store raw card data. Prices, taxes and refunds appear in euro (EUR).
Zone-based payment rules let you offer different options for the city centre than for outer parts of Thessaloniki.
- IRIS instant payments
- Cash on delivery (antikatavoli)
- PayPal
- Visa and Mastercard
- Klarna
- Bank transfer
Fulfilment options for Thessaloniki orders
Your international e-commerce platform can book shipments and share tracking with ELTA Courier, ACS, Geniki Taxydromiki, Speedex and BOX NOW lockers, or route orders to your own riders and stores across Thessaloniki.
Delivery rules can price by distance, weight, postcode or zone, offer same-day slots in dense areas, and switch on pickup points or click-and-collect where customers prefer them.
Connectivity in the area — Thessaloniki Airport and port — makes regional and national dispatch from Thessaloniki practical.
Tax, invoicing and compliance in Greece
Tax basics: Greek VAT (FPA) is 24% standard with 13% and 6% reduced rates, and lower rates on some Aegean islands.
Two frameworks shape the build: the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the ePrivacy rules on cookies and marketing consent, enforced by the Hellenic Data Protection Authority, and the EU Consumer Rights Directive (14-day withdrawal right), the Digital Services Act and, from June 2025, the European Accessibility Act for online shops and Law 2251/1994 on consumer protection.
We build the technical controls — tax-inclusive pricing, compliant invoices, consent banners, terms and return pages, data-access roles and audit logs. We are not a law firm, so final legal and tax positions should be confirmed with your own adviser in Greece.
Owning your channel in Greece
Many Thessaloniki sellers already list on Skroutz, Public, Plaisio, Kotsovolos, eBay and Amazon (DE/IT). Those channels bring traffic, but they also take commission, control the customer relationship and change rules without notice.
Your international e-commerce platform becomes the hub: marketplaces and social shops become extra outlets fed from one catalogue, while repeat customers buy directly from you at better margins.
Who we build for in Thessaloniki
Popular online categories in Greece include electronics, fashion, beauty, home, food and olive oil and tourism products. Local demand in Thessaloniki is shaped by logistics, port and tech hub, so we often design catalogues and B2B ordering around those sectors. In Thessaloniki, we most often build international and multi-region stores for:
Exporters
We map how exporters sell today and digitise it end to end — from enquiry and order to payment, dispatch and repeat purchase.
D2C brands expanding abroad
For D2C brands expanding abroad, we usually start with tax and duties, then add tax engines once orders are flowing.
Manufacturers selling to distributors overseas
Catalogue, pricing and fulfilment rules designed for manufacturers selling to distributors overseas in Thessaloniki, connected to the systems you already use.
Diaspora-focused retailers
Diaspora-focused retailers get cross-border shipping plus regional reporting workflows tailored to their operations.
Tourism and gifting businesses
We map how tourism and gifting businesses sell today and digitise it end to end — from enquiry and order to payment, dispatch and repeat purchase.
Multi-country retail groups
For multi-country retail groups, we usually start with regional storefronts, then add marketplace feeds by country once orders are flowing.
Add a mobile app for Thessaloniki customers
Phones carry most traffic in Greece. Region-aware mobile apps can switch language, currency and payment options automatically while sharing one codebase and backend.
One backend serves the website and the apps, and the apps ship under your own Google Play and App Store accounts — so what you change once appears everywhere.
Push notifications can be timed to UTC+3 so offers reach Thessaloniki customers when they are awake, and the interface can run in Greek.
- Translation management
- International couriers and 3PLs
- Tax engines
- Regional analytics
- Multi-currency payment providers
- Geo-IP and consent platforms
- ERP and accounting
- Marketplace feeds by country
Integrations above are examples; we connect any system that offers a suitable API, database access or approved import and export process.
How we phase your international e-commerce platform
We launch the journeys that create value first, then add depth. A typical roadmap for an international e-commerce platform in Thessaloniki:
| Phase | What goes live |
|---|---|
| First market | One new region with language, currency, payments, tax and shipping. Configured for EUR, Visa and Mastercard and ELTA Courier from the start. |
| Multi-region | Additional countries, local promotions and marketplace feeds. |
| Optimise | Regional apps, warehouses and localisation improvements. Reviewed against how Thessaloniki customers actually buy. |
Success is measured on conversion by country, international order share, checkout completion by payment method, delivery time by region, return rate abroad and margin after duties and shipping — tracked on a dashboard you can see from launch day.
How Thessaloniki clients work with us
Thessaloniki runs on UTC+3, which is 2h 30m behind India (IST). With three 8-hour shifts we are available 24×7, so meetings, demos and urgent fixes happen in your working hours.
We work in English and can deliver storefront content in Greek. NDAs are signed on request, and you get a named project lead plus direct access to the engineers building your international e-commerce platform.
Our head office is in Chhapi, Gujarat, with an office in Hyderabad and representation in Nigeria, South Africa, Ethiopia and Zambia; Thessaloniki clients are served remotely with on-site workshops when the project needs them.
