The Global Shopping Cart: 10 Elements for Taking your Retail Website International

Thinking about ways to expand your business? With more and more growth in online retail markets worldwide, it may be time to set your sights abroad. But it's important to remember that retail and eCommerce localization is much more than just buying the domain name for your target country. Before jumping into digital markets in Brazil or France, you’ll want to do a little prep work and evaluate all angles of your soon-to-be multilingual retail presence.

Here are 10 elements to consider as you begin your international expansion:

1. User Interface: How your site looks and feels to local customers is crucial to its global success. Consider how to make your eCommerce platform friendly in each locale. Japanese sites, for example, are often very busy with lots of banners and graphics to engage customers (quickly seen when comparing the Japanese and American version of the Toys "R" Us homepage). Even something as basic as the shopping cart button can benefit from culturally-sensitive localization: will you have an image of a cart, basket, or something else as the icon in each particular market?
   
   Remember, too, that most languages expand when you translate from English (although the opposite is true for languages like Arabic and Mandarin), so text will typically be anywhere from 20% to 50% longer. Dynamic text that adapts to these changes means nothing crucial will get cut off of buttons, lists, or product descriptions.
2. Language Selectors: How do you want your new international customers to access your site in their language? Automatic selectors can be misleading, particularly for countries with multiple languages like India or Belgium. While flags might be a popular way to visualize language options, they can be tricky too: Does a German flag apply to Austrian customers? If working in the widely understood Egyptian Arabic, an Egyptian flag might exclude other potential Arabic-speaking markets. A text-based language list and/or country selector is probably your best bet for international navigation options — it’s clear, user-friendly and effective.
3. Currency and Payment Processing: Online shoppers prefer to purchase in their home currency, so you’ll definitely want your shopping cart to make the conversions for them. You’ll also want to consider the standard payment processing solutions in each of your new markets. Your payment options should be tailored to local norms and include services like PayPal or direct bank transfers (a practice common throughout Europe) when customary. Mexico, Japan, and Taiwan use COD (cash on delivery) for some eCommerce purchases. And then there's Brazil, where merchants have a long history of accepting installment credits for purchases. Today in Brazil, over half of all online card transactions use partial payments, making this an important factor to consider when moving into this $9.2 billon eCommerce market. 
   
   Checkout steps also vary from country to country. Amazon illustrates this perfectly. The U.S. site has four steps from "Sign In" to "Place Order" while the U.K. site has seven steps from "Welcome" to "Confirm" (steps which hold true for Amazon's other European sites). Decide which steps make the most sense for your customers in each market.
4. Exchange Rates and VAT: You want to make money expanding into new markets, not lose it due to fluctuating exchange rates. Consistent prices show commitment to your new market, so make sure to set prices that reflect exchange rates as well as your localized pricing strategy right from the start. Conversion norms also might be different from country to country. In Japan, for example, the yen is the smallest unit, so there are no decimals involved, making decisions about how you round important. When it comes to VAT (Value Added Tax), make sure you build in the rules for when it applies. How will you display it? European Union prices already include their VAT, so customers don't expect taxes to be added in the shopping cart (as is typical on most American retail sites). Research what other taxes need to be taken into consideration.
5. International Laws: Legal implications from liability and privacy to return policies vary greatly from country to country, so make sure your eCommerce site adheres to local legal standards. For example, the EU requires credentials on the website stating who owns the site, a contact email, the company's registration number and place of registration, VAT number, and other information about the company for the site to be considered legitimate.
   
   When it comes to returns, you’ll want to follow the rules. In the EU, for example, customers have two weeks to return goods while in Australia, they can seek a refund in "a reasonable period of time." Knowing what you and your customers are legally entitled to can make all the difference. 
   
   Finally, pay attention to local laws about claims like "The best online shoe store in Spain" on your site. In Europe, the European Community competitive laws are strict — they require documentation for this type of claim and forbid direct comparison between sites. Similar restrictions exist in other markets. So if you're the best, have a study or survey to back you up to avoid hefty fines.
6. Customer Identification: Another factor is how you actually address your customer when they log in. In Germany, for example, first names are not commonly used by strangers, so a more formal address (analogous to something like "Mrs. Brown" in English) will set customers at ease. Be aware of name order and even how many names to expect your customers to have (from two to over five in some Arabic countries).
7. Communication Norms: We've talked about user interface style differences, but what about your global voice? Many American companies have an informal style at home while opting for a more formal presence abroad. Market research will help you make some decisions about how to best localize your brand messaging in specific countries. Your research will inform everything from the imperatives on your buttons to your product descriptions. Would “buy it now” or “proceed with your purchase” work better in Russia, for example?
8. Customer Service: If customers have a problem, how will you help them? Live chat, a phone hotline or email support in the customer's language are some options. It's best to have someone in-country to handle support (instead of hiring a translator to decode all those customer emails). If you can only provide phone support in English, make sure this is clearly stated so that customers aren't unpleasantly surprised. Don’t forget to localize your auto response emails that follow up on an order or confirm shipping.
9. Search Engine Marketing: When it comes to global eCommerce, it's worth taking the time to find keywords in your target countries (don't just translate what works for you already). Google now weights location of a search, which makes a U.S. page less likely to appear in another country. Even when dealing with the U.K., spelling and meaning can drastically change the keywords you target (as a quick comparison, search for "pants" on a U.K. and a U.S. search engine). Also remember that not every country uses Google as the primary search engine; in China Baidu is the search engine of choice.
10. Outreach and Social Media: How will you engage your customers to build your brand abroad? Social media sites are a major focus when it comes to marketing strategy, but it's costly to assume that everyone is on Facebook or Twitter. Find out what sites potential customers are using and work from there. A Facebook marketing campaign for China, for example, is probably not the best move since the site is officially blocked in that market. You’ll have more success engaging on one of the many Chinese social networking sites like Renren. By being present where people actually spend their time, you'll find out more about your market and customers' needs and habits, building your global market share from the bottom up.

You’re already on your way to selling your products in international digital space. Contact Acclaro today to learn more about how retail and eCommerce and website localization, marketing translation, and global SEM can make your business stand out in the global marketplace.