To sell to Mexico from the US, pick a model first: ship directly from the US, sell through a marketplace like Mercado Libre or Amazon Mexico, or set up a Mexican entity with local inventory. Then adapt the store: prices in pesos with taxes and duties included, local payment methods such as cards with installments and OXXO cash payments, a Mexican address form, reliable shipping with clear delivery times, and Spanish written for Mexican buyers. If you sell to businesses, plan how they will get a CFDI invoice, since they need one to deduct the purchase.
- Choose between direct shipping, marketplaces or a local entity before building anything.
- Show prices in pesos with taxes and duties included to avoid surprises at delivery.
- Offer installments (meses sin intereses) and cash at OXXO alongside cards.
- Business buyers expect a CFDI invoice; without a Mexican entity you cannot issue one.
- Use Mexican Spanish, a Mexican address form and WhatsApp support.
Pick your model first
Most decisions about payments, shipping and invoicing depend on how you sell, so start here.
| Model | How it works | Good for | Trade-offs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Direct cross-border | Your US store ships to Mexican customers by courier | Testing demand, higher-value products | Duties and taxes, longer delivery, no CFDI |
| Marketplace | List on Mercado Libre or Amazon Mexico, sometimes through their cross-border programs | Reaching buyers who already trust the platform | Fees, less control over brand and customer data |
| Merchant of record | A third party sells on your behalf and handles local payments, taxes and compliance | Brands that want local checkout without an entity | Service fees, less flexibility |
| Mexican entity and local stock | A Mexican company imports in bulk and ships domestically | Proven demand, business customers | Setup time, accounting and tax obligations in Mexico |
Many brands test with a marketplace or direct shipping, then open a local operation once they know which products sell. If you are on the Texas or California border, a warehouse in El Paso or San Diego can shorten delivery to northern Mexico considerably.
Payments Mexican shoppers expect
A US checkout with cards only will lose a large share of Mexican buyers. Plan for these methods:
- Credit and debit cards, including Mexican-issued cards, which are declined more often by fraud filters tuned for US traffic. Test with real Mexican cards.
- Meses sin intereses (interest-free monthly installments), which Mexican shoppers use widely for larger purchases and often expect to see on the product page.
- OXXO cash payments: the customer gets a voucher and pays in cash at an OXXO convenience store. It serves people without cards or who prefer not to use them online.
- SPEI bank transfers, Mexico’s instant interbank transfer system.
- Mercado Pago, a wallet many buyers already use from Mercado Libre.
Availability depends on where your payment account is registered. Some providers offer OXXO and installments only to Mexican entities, so a US-only company may need a provider with Mexican coverage or a merchant of record. Price in Mexican pesos (MXN) and show the final amount clearly.
Shipping, duties and taxes
Mexican customers are used to fast domestic delivery from large marketplaces, so cross-border shipping has to be clear and reliable.
- Couriers such as DHL, FedEx, UPS and Estafeta handle customs clearance for parcels and are usually the most predictable option.
- Duties and VAT. Imports pay Mexico’s 16% VAT (IVA) and, depending on the product and its origin, import duties. Goods that qualify as US-made under the USMCA can get preferential treatment.
- Low-value shipments. Mexico’s rules for small courier parcels have changed several times since 2024, with stricter treatment for goods from countries without a trade agreement. Confirm the current thresholds and rates with your carrier or a Mexican customs broker (agente aduanal) before launch.
- Show the full landed cost at checkout. Charging duties at the door (DDU) leads to refused packages and angry reviews. Collecting them up front (DDP) costs more to set up but works much better.
- Restricted products. Food, supplements, cosmetics, electronics and anything with health claims may need permits or specific labeling. Mexican labeling standards (NOMs) require Spanish product information for many goods sold in Mexico.
CFDI invoices: who issues them and when it matters
A CFDI is Mexico’s official electronic invoice. Mexican businesses, and many individuals who are registered taxpayers, need a CFDI to deduct a purchase. It is generated through Mexico’s tax authority (the SAT) by a registered Mexican taxpayer.
- Without a Mexican entity, you cannot issue a CFDI. For consumers that is usually fine; for business buyers it is often a deal-breaker.
- Through a marketplace or merchant of record, the platform or partner may issue the CFDI as the seller.
- With a Mexican entity, your store can request the buyer’s RFC (tax ID), tax regime, postal code and CFDI use at checkout and issue the invoice automatically through an authorized provider.
If B2B customers are part of your plan, add a “¿Necesitas factura?” option to checkout from the start. Automating invoice generation after payment saves a lot of manual work once orders grow, and is a standard integration in stores built for the Mexican market.
Spanish UX for Mexican buyers
Mexican Spanish differs from the Spanish you might use for US Hispanic customers, and both differ from Spain. A few details make the store feel local:
- Write in Mexican Spanish, usually with “tú” for consumer brands. Have a Mexican copywriter review product pages, checkout and emails.
- Use a Mexican address form: street, exterior number, interior number, colonia (neighborhood), five-digit postal code, municipality or alcaldía, state and a “referencias” field for delivery directions. A postal code lookup that suggests the colonia reduces errors.
- Phone numbers are 10 digits after the +52 country code.
- Prices in pesos with “IVA incluido” stated clearly, and installment options shown near the price.
- Delivery dates as a range in business days, not vague “international shipping”.
- Returns explained in plain Spanish, including who pays return shipping across the border.
Mexican consumers are protected by the Federal Consumer Protection Law and can complain to PROFECO, so clear terms in Spanish matter even for a foreign store.
Customer service on WhatsApp
In Mexico, WhatsApp is the normal way to ask a store a question, confirm an order or chase a delivery. A store without it looks less trustworthy. Add a WhatsApp button on product pages and the order confirmation, staffed by someone who writes natural Mexican Spanish, and send shipping updates there with the customer’s consent.
The same playbook that works for Hispanic customers in the US applies here; see WhatsApp for US businesses selling to Hispanic customers for setup, opt-in and message templates.
Getting found in Mexico
Mexican shoppers search on Google and on Mercado Libre, and increasingly ask AI assistants for product recommendations. A few points specific to cross-border stores:
- Create a Mexico-specific version of your store, often at /es-mx/ or on a .com.mx domain, with hreflang tags separating it from any US Spanish pages (es-MX versus es-US).
- Write product descriptions with the words Mexicans use, which can differ from US Spanish for the same product.
- Collect reviews from Mexican customers and show them on product pages.
- Publish clear answers about shipping times, duties and returns; those questions come up constantly and are often quoted by AI answers.
Our guides to Spanish-language SEO and AI search optimization cover the technical side.
Mistakes US stores make in Mexico
- Showing US dollar prices and letting the bank convert. Shoppers cannot tell what they will pay, and many card issuers add a foreign transaction fee.
- Surprise charges at the door. Duties collected on delivery are the fastest way to get refused packages and one-star reviews.
- Fraud filters that block Mexican cards. Review declined payments during the first weeks and adjust the rules with your payment provider.
- US Spanish copy. Words that sound natural in Los Angeles can sound odd in Monterrey or Mexico City. Have a Mexican reviewer check everything.
- An address form with US fields. No colonia, a state dropdown with US states, or a ZIP field limited to US formats will stop orders cold.
- No plan for returns. Decide before launch whether returns go back to the US, to a Mexican address or get refunded without return.
A launch checklist
- Pick the model: direct, marketplace, merchant of record or local entity.
- Confirm duties, taxes and product restrictions with a carrier or customs broker.
- Set up payments in MXN with installments and OXXO or another cash option.
- Show the full landed cost at checkout.
- Decide how business buyers will receive a CFDI.
- Localize the store in Mexican Spanish, with a Mexican address form.
- Add WhatsApp support and Spanish order emails.
- Test the full purchase with a real Mexican card and address before launch.
Our team is in Torreón, Mexico, and builds stores for both sides of the border. If you need help with the build, read about our nearshore web development approach or contact us with your plan.
