E-commerce localization is the adaptation of an online store to fit new markets, which ultimately includes tailoring to new languages and cultures.
The process of entering a new market requires merchants to adjust to the demands and conditions of their market of choice. This includes adaptation of everything from storefront content and UX to the product catalog and even customer support.
This comprehensive guide covers everything brands need to know about expanding into new markets–from how to prioritize markets for expansion to the strategy behind a successful launch into a new market.
The key pillars to an ecommerce localization strategy are the following:
Before you can begin to expand your brand into new markets, you first need to understand which markets provide the best opportunities for expansion.
Identifying the right opportunities allows you to right-size your approach to expansion. The more sure you are of the expansion opportunity, the more you can invest in making it happen.
In this section we spend time going over the basics on how to formulate a strategy for expansion, including:
Global markets are on the rise - and some of the fastest growing countries may surprise you. Here are the top 5 leading e-commerce markets in the world. Here are the top 5 leading e-commerce markets in the world. If you're planning to expand into these regions, it's crucial to understand their local laws to stay ahead of any potential challenges.
China's e-commerce market is unmatched, making up an impressive 50% of all global e-commerce sales ($3.5 trillion). Ten years ago, e-commerce sales were almost identical between the US and China.
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China’s massive growth trajectory was due to many reasons, such as:
Japan ranks as the world's third biggest e-commerce market, right after China and the US. In the early 2000’s, Amazon invested early in the Japanese market, operating out of 20 fulfillment centers and adding additional delivery centers, which helped logistics run smoothly.
Approximately 80% of the Japanese population has an online presence, which opens an attractive market for e-commerce brands. But in order to understand the consumer landscape in Japan, you need to understand the concept of ‘Omotenashi,’ a unique approach to hospitality which is manifested into e-commerce as customer service tactics. This concept appeals to its local consumers and helps drive loyalty.
One of the keys to Japan’s e-commerce success is offering consumers loyalty programs and discounts. Point cards and loyalty programs are a $11.79 billion market, projected to reach $16.87 billion by 2028.
Japan’s position as the third biggest market for e-commerce is due to:
Despite its modest size, the United Kingdom is one of the largest e-commerce markets in the world, driven by impressive sales figures (around £150 billion annually). It’s the most developed e-commerce market in Europe, with over 60 million users.
Leading e-commerce brands like Amazon UK, ASOS and eBay UK are revolutionizing the online shopping experience, setting new standards for customer satisfaction.
In a recent report by Mordor Intelligence, e-commerce sales in the UK are projected to see even more significant growth at $780 billion in 2029.
The UK’s accelerated growth in e-commerce sales has been most likely due to:
South Korea’s e-commerce market has a predicted revenue of reaching $160 billion by 2027 with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.7%. South Korea’s strong e-commerce growth is mainly supported by their high-speed internet, rising smartphone usage and various payment options that provide trust among consumers.
Korean consumer behavior shows that they engage with new ways of online shopping like live video streaming. Korean e-commerce giant Naver showcases their products through a live streaming platform called “Naver Shopping Live” where the customers can interact with the sellers in real-time.
Important factors for South Korea’s sustainable e-commerce growth are:
India’s ecommerce market is expected to reach $117 billion in 2024 with a growth rate of 9.65%. And it’s expected to be $300 billion by 2023, according to India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF).
With one of the lowest internet penetrations in the world (only 50% of the country has access to the internet) - which means that the market is far from its peak.
More than 60% of online transactions come from rural parts of the country and smaller towns. Additionally, the number of social media users in rural areas has surpassed that of urban regions. Through social media, online shoppers have adopted e-commerce and are making purchases from mobile devices.
India’s market has developed a strong e-commerce ecosystem by resolving last mile deliveries, a logistical challenge India faces. With the creation of PUDO centers, which act as Pick Off and Drop Off centers for shipments, e-commerce giants like FlipKart, Amazon and others can deliver their shipments throughout the entire country.
India’s impressive e-commerce growth is driven by these several factors:
Expanding your e-commerce business into new regions requires a deep understanding of your customer behavior and market dynamics. Due to differences in culture, writing, and overall style of thinking among customers in different areas, a specialized localization strategy must be implemented for expansion.
Below are examples using qualitative and quantitative data that merchants can use to help determine the path to expansion. This approach is a crucial first step in crafting a successful marketing strategy and expanding your e-commerce market share.
Using quantitative data properly can give valuable insights that influence your e-commerce expansion plan, allowing you to uncover new possibilities and customize your approach to local consumers. Here are ways you can leverage quantitative data:
Understanding Customer Behavior and Preferences
Identifying consumer purchasing patterns: One of the first steps that merchants intuitively take is by looking at sales data. This customer behavior can be tracked by using Google Analytics and Shopify to see detailed insights into top-selling products in different countries and peak purchasing times. With Google Analytics, you can track the regional behavior of different purchases.
Social media insights: Social media channels provide a lot of insight in terms of demographic data. Tools like Hootsuite or Sprout Social are great for aggregating all of your data so you can better understand customer sentiment. High engagement in certain regions indicates a receptive audience.
Identifying Popular Products, Preferred Payment Methods, and Delivery Options
Popular products: Identifying the most popular products in specific regions helps you understand customers better and meet their local demand. For instance, by leveraging sales data and customer feedback, merchants can discover their top selling products. Platforms like Shopify have a feature to filter sales data by region.
Preferred payment methods: Many regions vary in payment methods. While US consumers are most likely to pay with a credit card, cash on delivery or digital wallets are preferred more in different counties.
Delivery Options: Just like payment options can vary by region, the same goes for delivery. In some regions, consumers value how fast they receive a product, while others value cost-effectiveness.
A study by e-Marketer found that delivery tracking was the biggest factor for cross-border purchases (78%). An easy returns policy and reasonable shipping time were equally important to cross-border shoppers (76%). Other important factors that influenced purchases were multiple payment options (71%), transparency of total cost (71%), user information privacy (70%), quality guarantee (68%) and multiple shipping methods (68%).
In addition to leveraging quantitative data to fine-tune your e-commerce localization strategy, don't overlook the power of qualitative insights in the form of customer feedback, industry reports and competitor research. They offer a valuable perspective that can further refine your approach and enhance your results.
Customer feedback
Direct customer feedback through reviews, surveys and customer service interactions provides valuable insights into discovering specific patterns in customer behavior in different regions. Platforms like TrustPilot and Survey Monkey are widely used for collecting customer feedback.
Document the current customer journey to identify touchpoints from website data, social media interactions, email and past customer service chat logs. Note any pain points where customers are dropping off.
Use surveys, interviews, and analytics to gather feedback at each touchpoint. Ask questions that uncover customers’ motivations, frustrations, and overall satisfaction.
Examine the feedback for recurring themes and insights. Investigate common pain points, cultural nuances, and preferences that might affect your e-commerce operations in new markets.
Then, create a new customer journey map that represents the ideal customer experience in your new market - which would include localized content, implementing popular payment methods in that market, improving the UX of your online store, and accustoming to cultural preferences.
Here are some questions merchants can use when gathering customer feedback:
The ACAF Customer Feedback Loop
The A.C.A.F. Customer Feedback Loop allows merchants to collect customer feedback and use that feedback to improve their online stores. You ask for feedback, categorize the feedback, act on that feedback and follow-up with customers.
Industry reports
Industry reports and whitepapers provide in-depth analyses and data on the condition of the market, along with consumer preferences and an overview of the competition. Industry reports serve as a strong foundation when developing your expansion strategy.
Frameworks for market expansion and competitor research
Implement frameworks to help your team effectively organize complex data, enabling a clearer understanding of underlying forces and facilitating data-driven decisions. Some of the most popular frameworks used for market expansion are:
Ansoff Matrix
The Ansoff Matrix has four categories: market penetration (selling more of existing products to existing customers), market development (selling more of existing products to new markets), product development (developing new products for existing markets) and diversification (developing new products for new markets).
This framework is helpful for identifying opportunities and risks when strategically planning expansion into new markets.
Porter’s Five Forces
Porter’s Five Forces analyzes the competitive forces within an industry and consists of the following five factors:
Porter emphasizes that the Five Forces model should not be confused with transitory elements like industry growth rates, government involvement, and technological advancements. These are temporary factors, whereas the Five Forces Model should concentrate on the permanent components of an industry structure.
Translations and region-specific content form the lifeblood of your content localization strategy.
Not only do translations have to be technically accurate, but they must take into account regional nuances to make sure that your products and brand are being seen in the best way possible to your new market. In this section we break down:
In this section we also cover the importance of region-specific content that goes beyond basic translations, including:
Finally, at the end of this section we dive into how Shogun helps brands translate and localize the content on their storefront.
Consumers don’t purchase from websites they don’t understand. A CSA study found that 75% of consumers prefer to buy products in their native language, while 60% rarely or never buy from English-only websites.
Ecommerce translation isn’t just converting the words to another language - it’s about capturing the brand’s core identity and making sure that customers from another native language can connect to the brand. Whether the brand is an ecommerce giant or a new player entering a new market - you need to understand the ins and outs of ecommerce translation.
A brand that adapts its product descriptions, website copy, marketing materials and customer service to local norms is more likely to develop a more meaningful connection with its international customers, which ultimately shows in increased revenue.
Ecommerce translation extends beyond just specific webpages and includes the following:
Ecommerce smart LED brand Nanoleaf is a great example of localization done right. To support their global expansion, they recognized the need to adapt currencies, languages, and offer region-specific distribution options.
Since they’ve expanded in Europe, Nanoleaf has seen 4x more revenue - 80% of it coming outside their home country of Canada.
To provide a localized experience, a pop-up on their homepage welcomes visitors and prompts them to choose their location and preferred language.
Here is what their website looks like for Japanese visitors:
And here’s how they’ve translated their entire content for their German visitors:
And in Korean...
…and in many, many more languages!
It’s advisable to have product titles translated by humans rather than relying solely on automated systems. Machines often provide translations that may lack accuracy and nuance, leading to potential misinterpretations.
For example, this Polish website sells merch for the game “Among Us” and has completely translated the name of the game into Polish for more relevance.
A prime example of effective localization is Amazon, an e-commerce giant that excels in this area.
Amazon’s homepage isn’t the same in different markets. For instance, their UK store promotes products for UK shoppers, while their Japan store is personalized in a different way to meet the preferences of their consumers.
Amazon Japan focuses on shipping products globally, while their UK website focuses more on Amazon’s own products.
On Amazon India’s homepage, you'll find optimized images and more detailed text. Rather than simply replicating their global design, they've customized it for the local market to build trust and better address consumer needs.
An important note: Localizing a language goes beyond direct translation—it’s about adapting the message to resonate with the consumer, not just translating word for word. For instance, red shoes in English can be searched as shoes red in Spain. American consumers call athletic shoes "sneakers,” while UK consumers call them “trainers.”
Ecommerce brands have a wide selection of tools at their disposal to help translate their content. Here are different approaches you can take to translate your content and bridge linguistic gaps using either machine translation or human expertise:
How merchants can leverage translations: Localizing your content means much more than simple translation. It involves transforming your existing content—including landing pages, product pages, blogs, checkout processes, emails, graphics, eBooks, and social media posts—not only to the language but also to the culture and way of thinking of the new market.
Shogun is a great solution for merchants that want to translate individual pages, or elements on a page for their target market.
Steps to execute: Follow these steps to leverage Shogun’s AI text generation using prompts:
This approach enables merchants to better personalize their website experience for consumers.
While automated translation tools are extremely useful, they fall short of accurately capturing linguistic subtleties. This is when human translation comes into play. Professional translators offer numerous major benefits, including:
Using a combination of automated translation tools and adding human-touch ensures merchants that their content is clear but also culturally appropriate, helping it resonate on a deeper level with the local market.
Highlighting local success stories, case studies, and testimonials can build trust and credibility. According to Edelman's Trust Barometer, 71% of consumers need to trust a brand to buy from them.
Another effective way to build trust is by offering your online store in all the languages spoken within a country, like Amazon India does. This establishes trust among consumers because many countries consist of many different ethnic groups and nationalities.
One key to successful localization is crafting marketing campaigns that resonate with the local audience. This approach demonstrates your understanding of their culture, humor, and unique preferences.
McDonald’s India adapted to the local consumers and implemented their local tastes in the menu. They introduced a potato-based burger called McAloo Tikki and avoided beef on their menu.
They also released an animated video ad for their Japanese consumers, which is the most common video style in Japan. The commercial instilled a sense of nostalgia and family value.
IKEA customized smaller furniture in Japan, noticing that consumers mostly lived in small apartments.
Successful regional marketing demands empathy, thorough research, and sometimes even the development of new products tailored specifically for that audience.
Keeping content up-to-date with local news and trends ensures your material remains relevant and engaging for the local audience, increasing the likelihood that they’ll come back to your site.
Cyber Monday and Black Friday have become global sales traditions, but many other holidays vary. Christmas promotions may mean nothing to shoppers in India, while Diwali is a major festivity. Tap into the local holidays of your target market to increase your revenue and relevance.
Preserving context is important for cultural nuances. In English, “break a leg” can be offensive when translated to other languages. In some cultures, addressing someone by their first name is offensive. Every language has its own expressions that are deeply connected to its culture.
Conduct keyword research specific to each target region. Search terms like "sneakers" in the US might be "trainers" in the UK. It’s important to not only utilize the correct words but phrases as well.
Optimize meta tags, headers, and on-page content with localized keywords. This improves visibility in search results within the target region. A study by BrightEdge found that organic search drives 53.3% of all website traffic, emphasizing the importance of localized SEO.
Expert’s at Moz have found that having a keyword in your subdomain helps to rank on Google faster:
So how do merchants conduct research for their global SEO strategy? Here are the steps:
Building backlinks from reputable local websites, blogs, publications, and online communities enhances SEO and drives local referral traffic.
A localized user experience goes beyond the content of your storefront and takes into account the different ways that diverse global markets prefer to interact with ecommerce storefronts.
In this section, we break down the importance of a localized user experience and why it’s important–including:
The user interface (UI) is different for different cultures. For instance, the reading direction in the US and Europe runs left-to-right while Japanese reading can vary from left-to-right, right-to-left and top-to-bottom. In Arabic and Hebrew, reading directions can be right-to-left or left-to-right.
For example, Booking.com uses right-to-left reading directions for its audience in Saudi Arabia.
An important aspect of designing a regional storefront is streamlining user flows. When entering a new market, it is critical to ensure that customers have easy access to popular items and categories specific to their location. For example, if you're starting in Southeast Asia, including local favorites on the site, such as traditional clothes or local foods, may greatly increase user engagement.
Colors also have different meanings in different regions. Orange is associated with harvest, warmth and affordability in Western culture, while in Eastern culture it symbolizes spirituality and happiness. In the Middle East, red is associated with danger, while in Indian culture, it means beauty.
Localizing your online store isn’t just displaying relevant products; it also involves integrating features that meet the needs and preferences of the target audience in the new region. Implementing local shipping methods is crucial for providing a seamless shopping experience.
For example, Chinese consumers typically prefer logging in via mobile rather than email. This preference mirrors their general mobile usage habits, as mobile apps dominate their online activity. Given this trend, online stores in China often integrate features that cater to mobile users, while email is rarely used for login purposes.
Identifying key local payment methods can result in anywhere from 10%-50% faster adoption in new regions. For example, PayPal is used 95% for shopping online in Germany, while in the Netherlands they mostly use iDEAL (66%). The Asia Pacific region prefers wallet-based payment methods. Almost 50% of online transactions in China are completed through AliPay.
In India, Cash-On-Delivery (COD) is the predominant payment method due to widespread mistrust of online payment systems.
When globalizing the user experience, merchants shouldn’t overlook the smaller details. Elements such as name, last name, address, currency, measurement units, dates and time also need to be adapted to fit the preferences of the local market.
For example, the address form in the UK usually focuses on the postcode, while in the US it focuses on the state. Some countries may need one line for their address, while others, like Turkey, may need three to four to fit the long street names.
Amazon has used UX localization in their address fields to tailor the experience for different regions. For example, the address fields on Amazon UK and Amazon Saudi Arabia are designed differently, showing how localization can impact the user interface without changing the language.
The layout of a website and user habits can also vary significantly from country to country. In order to best optimize your ecommerce store for a specific region, it’s key to do research to try to understand which types of layout designs are most common.
British users generally prefer a simpler design with minimal text and straightforward call-to-actions. In contrast, Chinese users of the same website are more drawn to pages with more images, text, and call-to-actions. This contrast is evident when comparing the homepages of KFC UK and KFC China.
Personalization is a powerful tool in enhancing user experience, particularly when expanding into new regions. By analyzing user behavior and purchase patterns, you can tailor your recommendations to highlight popular items in specific locations.
Dynamic content is another effective personalization strategy. Tools like Shogun’s Personalization feature allow you to deliver content that changes based on user location, language, and past interactions. For example, if a user from Japan visits your site, you can automatically display content in Japanese and feature products popular in Japan.
How to execute: Follow these steps to optimize your pages using Shogun’s personalized experiences:
Conducting A/B Testing for Optimization: Without A/B testing, finetuning your design and personalization strategies would be left to guesswork instead of data-driven decisions. A/B testing allows you to compare different versions (variants) of your storefront and determine which one performs better in terms of user engagement and conversion rates.
Shogun’s A/B testing feature enables you to test various design elements, content layouts, and personalization strategies to identify what resonates best with users in different regions. There’s a 33% higher chance of outperforming competitors with frequent optimization through A/B testing.
For example, you might test different homepage layouts to see which one leads to higher click-through rates or compare different personalized product recommendations to find the most effective ones for driving sales.
Not all products are designed to be sold in certain regions. Often, something about the product needs to be altered (beyond just basic translations) in order for it to be a top seller in a new market.
In this section, we break down how to approach localizing your brand’s product catalog for your new target market. Topics covered include:
Once you’ve gathered marketing insights, customize your product catalog to reflect regional preferences and legal requirements. This includes:
According to a report by the World Trade Organization, adhering to local regulations is crucial for market entry and can significantly impact sales success.
To ensure that your product descriptions resonate with local consumers, translate and adapt them to reflect local language, idioms, and cultural references. Effective translation goes beyond literal language conversion; it involves understanding cultural nuances and preferences.
Lululemon successfully adapted to its Asian market by offering leggings tailored to local preferences. They introduced an "Asia Fit" line, featuring leggings with size and fit adjustments to better suit their audience. In fact, studies show that 65% of Asia-Pacific customers choose apparel companies that cater to their individual regional and sizing preferences.
Images themselves cannot be translated, but they can be adapted to reflect the weather and cultural context of the region.
Example: A sundress featured in Texas might be styled casually, while the same sundress in Finland should be paired with boots and a jacket to match the colder climate.
Tailoring images to local weather and fashion trends helps create a more relevant and engaging experience for regional audiences.
Product recommendations are a key part of any ecommerce strategy. Recommendation sections can be placed all over a brand’s site–including the home page and product pages.
Localizing these product recommendations allows merchants to customize the products that shoppers from certain regions see being recommended to them while they browse.
Shogun’s Personalization feature makes it easy to create and deliver custom product recommendations depending on the location of the shopper.
Best selling products are often different from region to region. Promoting your regional best sellers through localized product recommendations allows you to achieve a higher click-through rate on those products.
Follow these steps to set up localized product recommendations using Personalization on your storefront.
Follow these steps to create personalized content:
Currency conversions and pricing for new markets is a critical aspect of ecommerce localization.
Shoppers want to see pricing in their native currency–and they are much more likely to make a purchase if brands are offering this level of localization.
In this section, we cover the following topics related to currency and pricing localization:
Implement Real-Time Currency Conversion Tools: To meet the needs of international consumers that are used to their local currency, integrating real-time currency conversion tools into your e-commerce site is crucial. After all, over 90% of shoppers prefer purchasing in their local currency. The benefits of using currency conversions are:
Allow customers to select their preferred currency and see prices and payment amounts adjusted accordingly, either through geolocation or at checkout. This feature helps eliminate confusion and builds trust, as customers can be sure they’re being charged the correct amount.
Regularly review and adjust pricing to reflect significant changes in exchange rates. Tools like XE.com or OANDA can help you track currency fluctuations and adjust your pricing strategy accordingly. This practice helps maintain profit margins and keeps pricing consistent with market conditions.
Use automated systems to calculate and update taxes and fees based on the customer's location. This ensures that pricing is accurate and transparent, preventing unexpected costs at checkout. Solutions like Avalara or TaxJar can integrate with your e-commerce platform to handle tax calculations efficiently.
To attract local consumers and reduce shopping cart abandonment, consider offering free shipping. Providing this perk, especially for first-time buyers, can build trust and address a common concern: high additional costs. Free shipping helps alleviate the impact of extra charges and encourages more customers to complete their purchases. 75% of consumers admit to this.
Tailor promotions and discounts to align with local holidays, festivals, and seasonal trends. For instance, offer special deals during Diwali in India or Christmas in Europe. According to a report by Epsilon, 80% of consumers are more likely to engage with promotions that are relevant to their local context.
Create loyalty programs that cater to regional customer preferences and behaviors. Customize rewards and incentives to match local shopping habits and cultural values. For example, a loyalty program in Japan might focus on points that can be redeemed for exclusive products or experiences unique to the region. It’s expected that the loyalty market in Japan will go from $9470 million in 2022 to $1.6 billion by 2027.
Implement geo-targeting to deliver personalized promotions based on the customer’s location. This allows you to offer relevant discount banners and offers tailored to specific regions. Geo-targeted promotions can significantly increase conversion rates by making offers more relevant and timely.
Follow these steps to set up region-specific promotions with Personalization on your storefront.
Follow these steps to create personalized content:
Capturing a customer in a new market is just the beginning. Once you’ve converted a sale, you need to fulfill the order and get the product shipped out to the customer.
This section briefly touches on what brands need to keep in mind when it comes to fulfilling orders in new markets.
Determine shipping prices: To effectively manage shipping costs when entering new regions, start by researching various shipping carriers to find the most cost-effective options. Consider partnering with carriers that offer a range of services, such as standard and express shipping, to meet different customer needs.
A report by Statista indicates that 62% of online shoppers prioritize shipping costs when making purchasing decisions, so offering multiple shipping options can enhance customer satisfaction and drive sales.
Transparent pricing: Clearly displaying shipping costs during the checkout process is crucial for avoiding unexpected charges that can deter customers from completing their purchases.
Make sure to add shipping fees, such as taxes and customs duties, that are prominently shown to provide a transparent pricing structure. You can offer them to choose from different shipping options, to see which is more convenient for them.
Transparency around delivery times: Eliminating uncertainty about both costs and delivery times helps build trust with consumers. In fact, 68% of shoppers are influenced to buy based on the speed of delivery.
Even if it takes 8 days to ship your product - it’s best to be honest and state this during checkout, not after a purchase has been made.
In a survey by Shopify, it was found that 32% of global online shoppers abandoned their cart after the estimated delivery time was too long and 22% abandoned their cart because there wasn’t an estimated delivery date.
While many shoppers (74%) are influenced by price, not far back from that are free returns (68%), estimated arrivals (68%), back-in-stock alerts (59%), and available inventory (54%).
Local Warehouses and Distribution Centers: Establishing local warehouses and distribution centers in key regions can significantly reduce shipping times and costs. By positioning your inventory closer to your customers, you can ensure faster delivery and lower shipping expenses. Research by Deloitte shows that companies with regional distribution centers experience up to a 30% reduction in shipping costs and a 25% improvement in delivery times.
Local Fulfillment Providers: Partnering with local fulfillment providers not only allows you to efficiently address the needs of your consumers but also keeps you informed about regional logistics and regulations.
Clear Return Policies: Develop clear and customer-friendly return policies that comply with local regulations and meet customer expectations. Almost two-thirds of online shoppers prefer shopping at stores that offer free returns, with quick refunds and without packaging.
The number one drop-off method is dropping-off the product at a third party location.
Shoppers like free-returns so much that 96% of them are willing to travel up to 50 miles to get their refund. 40% of them are willing to travel up to 5 miles, 35% would travel up to 10 miles, 10% up to 25 miles, 9% up to 1 miles and 4% would travel less than 1 mile.
Expansion into new markets requires a special focus on making sure you can back it up with a great customer experience to ensure continued success, repeat purchases, and more localized reviews.
In this section, we cover the importance of localized customer support–including:
At the end of this section, we also cover how to create localized FAQs using Shogun.
Providing 24/7 customer support is quickly becoming a must-have for brands. In fact, 60% of consumers expect it. It’s even more important for younger generations (under the age of 35).
Merchants can use a combination of in-house support, outsourcing, and chatbots to manage global customer needs at any hour.
Not only are there language differences amongst different regions, but there are different expectations and preferences for customer support interactions as well.
According to CM.com, customers from Germany (72%) prefer quick and direct responses, followed by China (70%) and the Netherlands (64%). In contrast, customers from the UK (51%), Belgium (53%), and France (75%) are willing to wait longer if they receive empathetic assistance.
To ensure a positive customer experience, you need to engage with customers on their preferred platforms, whether it's social media, live chat, phone, or email. For instance, if a customer buys a product through Instagram, it's natural for them to reach out via direct message with any questions.
Online fashion retailer SHEIN offers customer support through Instagram direct messages as part of their multi-channel support strategy. They use an automated bot called “SHEIN Bot” to assist shoppers.
This helped reduce response wait time by 73% and increased tickets response by 18%.
Increasing customer retention by only 5% can increase profits from 25% to 95%. Focusing on personalization and multichannel customer support plays a huge role in retention growth.
Hire multilingual support staff or collaborate with third-party services to provide assistance in the local languages of your target markets.
While native speaking customer support is preferred, in-house support agents who aren’t native speakers can use tools that automatically translate customer inquiries.
Online fashion retailer Zalando offers multi-lingual customer support in both English and German.
Implement real-time translation services for live chat and phone support to bridge language gaps. Tools like Google Translate or third-party translation services can facilitate smooth interactions and ensure that language barriers do not hinder customer support.
A study by CSA Research found that 70% of customers prefer accessing support resources in their native language. Develop localized help documentation, tutorials, and guides in the languages of your target markets. Providing support materials that are culturally relevant and easy to understand helps customers resolve issues independently and enhances their overall experience.
Online fashion retailer ASOS has a customer center with support resources segmented into different topics so that consumers can find the answer they need more quickly.
Localizing help resources is valuable because it aligns with the preferences of many customers who want support in their native language, making it easier for them to find solutions and understand the information - which leads to quicker issue resolution and increased customer satisfaction.
Follow these steps to set up region-specific Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) that are translated and localized using Personalization on your storefront.
Follow these steps to create personalized content:
A thoughtful and strategic approach to global ecommerce, encompassing localized design, personalized experiences, and robust customer support will set your brand up for success when expanding into new markets.
Merchants that are looking to get started with localizing their storefront should consider using Shogun.
Shogun's Personalization feature allows for precise targeting and segmentation based on factors like location, referrer, date and time, customer behavior and more to create tailored web experiences.
Start your risk-free 10-day trial today to see the impact of localized shopping experiences.
