-
Report details
-
40
Figures
-
4
Tables
-
Introduction
-
Lessons for Global Customer Experience Management
-
Research and Methodology for This Study
-
Summary of Findings from Our 10-Nation Survey
-
Survey Demographics
-
3,002 Consumers in 10 Countries
-
Participants Completed Surveys in Their Own Languages
-
Ten Countries Represent the Developed and Developing World
-
Minimal Proficiency in Reading English Spans the Globe
-
The Appeal of English
-
People around the World Visit English-Language Websites
-
Visitors Spend More Time at Sites in Their Mother Tongue
-
Most People Prefer Buying in Their Own Language
-
Price and Availability Drive Purchases at English-Language Sites
-
What Global Customers Buy from Sites in English
-
Global Customer Experience
-
International Buyers Almost Evenly Split on Home-Language Purchases
-
Most Consumers Feel Discomfort Deciding in Other Languages
-
For Similar Products, Consumers Buy in Their Language
-
Instructions in the Local Language Win Over Many Buyers
-
Price Influences Many International Buyers More than Language
-
A Globally Recognized Brand Beats Local Products
-
After the Sale Is When Language Becomes Indispensable
-
The Importance of Local Content Increases over the Customer Life Cycle
-
Alternatives to Full Localization
-
Buyers Split on Preference for Lower-Quality Translation
-
Mixing Languages on a Site Does Not Bother Most International Buyers
-
Having Product Reviews in Their Language Is Enough for Many Visitors
-
The Majority of Participants Turn to Machine Translation
-
Localization beyond Language
-
Why Global Visitors Leave English-Language Websites
-
Why People Leave Behind Their Shopping Carts
-
Recommendations
-
Research Language Needs and Expectations in Target Markets
-
If You Enter Markets with English or Bad Translations, Be Careful
|
Can't Read, Won't Buy
How Translation Affects the Web Customer Experience and E-Commerce Growth
21 Feb 2014
by
Donald A. DePalma, Robert G. Stewart, Vijayalaxmi Hegde
If you read English natively, you have enjoyed the best of the web since its creation. Content in this language has dominated the medium for nearly two decades while companies have catered to Anglophone markets and the enormous spending they generate. Even so, many corporations realize that billions of people don’t read English at all or well enough to make buying decisions, so they’re increasing information in other languages to reach many more prospects. However, the big question is: If they localize their websites, will more buyers come? How much will localization help them grow?
Common Sense Advisory polled 3,002 consumers in 10 countries in their languages to test the hypothesis that companies can increase their sales by localizing their products and websites. We found a substantial preference for the consumer’s mother tongue. This partiality leads many potential prospects unsure of their reading skills to avoid English-language websites, spend less time during their visits, and not buy products that lack instructions or post-sales customer support in their language. In summary, we found that more local- language content throughout the customer experience leads to a greater likelihood of purchase.
This report contains six sections: 1) a description of the survey demographics; 2) a discussion of the attraction of English among our respondents; 3) a review of the global customer experience as it relates to language; 4) alternatives to full localization; 5) localization beyond language; and 6) recommendations.
Page Count: 59
Table of Contents
-
Introduction
-
Lessons for Global Customer Experience Management
-
Research and Methodology for This Study
-
Summary of Findings from Our 10-Nation Survey
-
Survey Demographics
-
3,002 Consumers in 10 Countries
-
Participants Completed Surveys in Their Own Languages
-
Ten Countries Represent the Developed and Developing World
-
Minimal Proficiency in Reading English Spans the Globe
-
The Appeal of English
-
People around the World Visit English-Language Websites
-
Visitors Spend More Time at Sites in Their Mother Tongue
-
Most People Prefer Buying in Their Own Language
-
Price and Availability Drive Purchases at English-Language Sites
-
What Global Customers Buy from Sites in English
-
Global Customer Experience
-
International Buyers Almost Evenly Split on Home-Language Purchases
-
Most Consumers Feel Discomfort Deciding in Other Languages
-
For Similar Products, Consumers Buy in Their Language
-
Instructions in the Local Language Win Over Many Buyers
-
Price Influences Many International Buyers More than Language
-
A Globally Recognized Brand Beats Local Products
-
After the Sale Is When Language Becomes Indispensable
-
The Importance of Local Content Increases over the Customer Life Cycle
-
Alternatives to Full Localization
-
Buyers Split on Preference for Lower-Quality Translation
-
Mixing Languages on a Site Does Not Bother Most International Buyers
-
Having Product Reviews in Their Language Is Enough for Many Visitors
-
The Majority of Participants Turn to Machine Translation
-
Localization beyond Language
-
Why Global Visitors Leave English-Language Websites
-
Why People Leave Behind Their Shopping Carts
-
Recommendations
-
Research Language Needs and Expectations in Target Markets
-
If You Enter Markets with English or Bad Translations, Be Careful
|
AVAILABILITY - LSP membership
- Global content buyer membership
- Technology vendor membership
Other Users Also Viewed
Research Process for “The Language Services Market”
15 May 2019
CSA Research publishes an annual series of reports on the language services and technology market based on a yearly comprehensive survey of language service and technology providers. Anyone interested in learning about the science behind this researc…
|