Guide To Cross-Border E-Commerce: Key For Success In The 21st Century

E-commerce has permanently transformed the global business landscape. Companies must now shift from traditional, standardised models to innovative approaches. As e-commerce enables businesses to reach a wider consumer base, localisation becomes essential for survival and growth in this new environment.

This article explores the pros and cons of e-commercee in the 21st century. It also offers practical tips on how to use a professional localisation service to maximise success through effective e-commerce localisation.

E-commerce in the 21^st century

Electronic commerce or e-commerce refers to the buying and selling activities of products or services over the Internet. E-commerce businesses employ some or all of the electronic activities and transactions: online shopping via mobile apps and websites, providing or participating in online marketplaces, business-to-business buying and selling, marketing to prospective and established customers via e-mail, and online financial exchanges.

Convenience is the fundamental reason for the success of e-commerce. Customers perform their browsing and buying right at their desks. E-commerce allows customers to purchase products from other countries. It can also help customers to buy a wider range of products while saving their time. In short, e-commerce enables customers to overcome geographical barriers and allows them to purchase products at anytime and from anywhere. Yet, e-commerce also provides customers with significant power. E-commerce enables customers to research products and compare prices among retailers.

E-commerce markets are growing at dramatic rates. Between 2015 and 2020, the e-commerce market projected a 56% growth rate. In 2017, global retail online sales reached 2.3 trillion US dollars. By 2021, experts forecast online revenues to hit 4.88 trillion US dollars. In contrast, traditional markets saw only a 2% growth during the same period. This rapid expansion highlights the importance of e-commerce localisation and partnering with a reliable localisation service to stay competitive in global markets.

Localisation as key for success in e-commerce battlefield

To leverage the perks of e-commerce, multinational businesses are suggested to remain true to their brand while manage to effectively localise their online presence. Their websites and other online channels require more than basic translation. To increase competitiveness, multinational brands’ websites must continually innovate their outlook, yet employ proper cultural elements. In this scenario, proper localisation is vital in targeting specific audiences because cultural factors naturally drive consumers’ purchasing behaviours.

For multinational e-commerce companies, their websites and mobile apps are the most important elements that need to be considered first for localisation. By simply localising websites and mobile apps, e-commerce companies can expand their ability to reach a wider audience with minimal effort. At the same time, they can establish trust in their products and services. Due to the shift to online shopping, there is a rising demand for personally tailored user experience. As a result, human translators are in high demand because of the need for fine-tuning a translation to appear familiar and colloquial to reach global audiences. Elements such as imagery, textual content, and user experience require to be crafted according to individual and local cultural requirements.

Expert in localisation

When multinational companies first enter a market, establishing an in-house localisation team can be daunting and costly. Therefore, partnering with an expert in localisation who understands the market is a wiser choice. elionetwork has more than 20 years of experience in localisation. We have a translation team of professional writers who are equipped with cultural intelligence of markets across America, Europe, Asia, and Oceania. Additionally, our experienced project managers ensure that the user interfaces across online platforms are taken into consideration during the translation process to optimise the look, feel and usability according to local taste and culture. Contact us today so we can help you to strategically plan for your translation and localisation plan.