Why it’s Time to Think about Cross Border Ecommerce
If you haven’t spared a thought about cross border ecommerce then here’s some interesting facts to ponder about: Online “shoppers” in China are buying American products (at 84%), products from Hong Kong (at 58%), Japan (at 52%), England (at 43%) and from Australia (39%). Together, Chinese buyers have spent more than $35 Billion on foreign sites alone. This development can well be seen as a harbinger of things to come. Yes, we will soon see American consumers preferring to buy directly from Chinese ecommerce sites or Indians ordering goods from Australian E-tailers. So, being in the business can make perfect sense only if also think along global lines. With wider reach and round the clock sales, your business would know no limits.
How Do You Go Global
You can tune your ecommerce site for the global audience by offering consumers a variety of language options, currency options and country-specific address fields. Besides, you need to pepper your sites with features like easy and a variety of payment modes, easy checkouts, free shipping, mobile-optimized experience and irresistible rewards.
Of all these, we believe language and localization plays the most important role in making your presence felt globally. While language can help you relate to your target audience at a more personal level, localization, which includes imbibing local imagery, cultural references and design preference, helps you to connect with them better. In fact, the more sophisticated localization methods you deploy, the better are your chances of being accepted in diverse cultures. What this means is that you can’t have a one-size-fits-all approach. Have a look at the English and Japanese websites of Rakuten, the company behind the largest online shopping mall in Japan, and you’ll know how different you need to be.
How We Help You Go Global
We partner with local agencies to better understand the target audience, and comprehend the core cultural values of the audience. This helps us design websites which is consistent with local norms and feels familiar to your audience.
As language is key to localization, we take great care to ensure that the translated content maintains the nuances and subtleties associated with the language. We team up only with experienced and certified translators to develop content which is culturally sensitive with your tone of voice as well as is in line with local law.
Additionally, we pay detailed attention to factors which are critical to website localization. These include having the right layout, colors, symbols, metaphors, local images, local timings, special characters, dates, events, phone numbers, measurements so that your target audience can find no difficulty in identifying with it. Besides, we optimize your website for local search engine visibility and test it on target users for valuable insider knowledge.
According to a recent survey, cross-border purchases is expected to touch 27 percent, reaching USD 1.6 trillion by 2020. If you wish to grab a sizeable piece of the pie, it’s time you start thinking along global lines.