In today’s ever-evolving economy, eCommerce continues to gain strength and popularity. In fact, eCommerce saw its best year ever in 2018—and is predicted to keep growing rapidly.
In order to remain competitive in a crowded market, it’s imperative that eCommerce websites innovate to push ahead of competitors. In the U.S. alone, more than fifteen percent of the adults living in the United States speak a language other than English in their homes. The major benefit of eCommerce is the unprecedented ability to reach a staggering range of consumers in the U.S. and globally.
However, access to this wide range of consumers is only achievable through a website that is expertly translated to be culturally and linguistically accessible to them. Let’s take a look at how your company stands to benefit from translating your eCommerce website.
The cost of translation in eCommerce
While free translation applications do exist, they can be error-prone and won’t always take into account the nuances of language, dialect, or culture. Free translation services are not localized and therefore will not provide the sought-after benefits of translating your eCommerce website. Differences between regions and dialects that are not accounted for can result in serious miscommunications that create a harmful disconnect between you and your valued customer, so don’t risk it!
To target the large number of non-English speakers in the U.S. and globally, investing in a translation service that will provide high-quality, localized translation services is key. With a clear vision and approach, translating a website is not cost-prohibitive. On the contrary, the true question in our digital age is whether one can afford not to market to a linguistically diverse target audience.
What are the benefits?
- Increased customer base
The first and foremost benefit of translating your eCommerce website is an increased customer base – the more users that can use your website in their primary language, the more potential customers you have. - Improved search engine listing
For websites outside of the United States, websites that have languages other than English are more likely to have higher listings on search engines. - Improved customer satisfaction
In order to provide excellent customer service, your eCommerce experience needs to be user-friendly, efficient, and effective. Customers are more likely to have a positive experience purchasing from your website if they feel comfortable that they understand its contents in their entirety. Moreover, users are likely to spend more time browsing a website that is tailored to their needs, resulting in a higher likelihood of increased sales and return customers. Of note, it’s important to consider the internet speeds to which your target audience has access. - Error prevention
If your customer is using a website that is not in their primary language, it could lead to errors and frustration. Miscommunication related to product details, shipping, and even unit measurements can harm your relationship with the customer. It’s critical to address these concerns using a culturally and linguistically sensitive approach with professional translation. Additionally, having a multilingual website can result in reduced returns due to miscommunications, which improves profits. - Improved personalization
One of the growing trends in eCommerce today is personalization. In fact, personalization is identified as a key strength of large, successful retailers. Translation is critical to this endeavor. Nothing is more essential to personalization than a website that is accessible to your customer in their primary language.
Bottom line
The benefits of translating your eCommerce website with a professional service should be pretty obvious at this point. With eCommerce taking on an ever-widening presence in the commercial sector, websites and companies that invest in translation in order to reach a larger, more diverse audience will ensure themselves greater success and longevity.
