eCommerce revenues are soaring around the globe. This year, the US, Western Europe, and China alone will generate over $800 billion in online retail sales. Growth rates, too, remain staggering in many countries: China’s massive online retail market will more than double between 2013 and 2018, as will Brazil’s. India’s much smaller market will grow by eight-fold during this timeframe.

However, a litany of businesses have failed as they attempted to tap into shoppers outside of their home markets, with many large US and European brands factoring prominently on the list of casualties. eCommerce is no exception: Numerous eCommerce businesses have taken the plunge into new markets, only to find their offerings didn’t resonate with local consumers or they were outsmarted by much savvier local rivals.

What separates successful global eCommerce businesses from their counterparts? Which tactics have proven particularly effective for brands aiming to extend their reach into new markets? What are some of the most common challenges businesses tend to encounter? Our newly published eCommerce globalization playbook helps brands through the thorny process of global expansion. Clients can read our playbook for insights on how to:

Discover and quantify international revenue opportunities. Our playbook includes reports outlining the global opportunity and identifying how eCommerce markets typically develop with time. Our online retail forecasts for the US and Canada, Western Europe, Asia Pacific, and Latin America provide a quantitative look at market sizes and eCommerce trends in these regions.

Plan effectively to avoid major pitfalls. No one approach to global markets is going to be right for every company, but most business need to go through a similar assessment of the internal and external factors that will impact their ability to succeed in each market. The reports in this section of the playbook help brands build effective road maps and strategic plans to tackle new markets.

Act upon market insights and build global-ready organizations. Going global requires more than just careful planning: eCommerce businesses must ensure their organizational structure and processes support global growth. Brands must similarly select vendor partners that can take them into new markets effectively. This section will help brands ensure their organizations and their technology partners are ready for a global future.

Optimize global offerings as the demands of local shoppers become clearer. Brands too often exhale once a new international offering is launched — instead, they must realize the hard work is just beginning. The euphoria of being operational in a new market must be accompanied by careful measurement and analysis of results. This section of the playbook helps businesses manage, benchmark, and improve their performance.

Currently seven core reports in the playbook are live; others will be coming throughout 2014. We would love to hear your thoughts on the issues that are most critical to your eCommerce organization as you expand internationally.