Localization

Focus
Global eCommerce data for 2014. Source: Ecommerce Foundation.
Clearly there’s no “one size fits all”
approach for startups striving for success,
and what works for some startups
isn’t going to work for others. The
eCommerce battlefield can be merciless,
and for every eBay and Amazon
there are thousands of startups that fall
by the wayside. A lack of investment
and cash flow, a poor user interface, and
limited payment and delivery options
are the oft-cited reasons as to why 80%
of eCommerce startups fail and 90% of
all internet businesses fold within the
first 120 days of their lifespan.
So how many eCommerce companies
are out there? There are no official
figures but research by RJMetrics,
a US big data analytics company, estimates
that “the largest eCommerce
sites on the Internet make up about
1% of the total population and generate
34% of the total revenue.”
There also exists a middle tier of
eCommerce sites that make up 51%
of the total population, generating
63% of the total revenue. Meanwhile,
small eCommerce companies account
for 48% of the total population and
contribute 3% of the total revenue to
the sector.
These kinds of statistics may seem
daunting, and competition may
appear intense, but the potential is
huge. Approximately 41% of global
internet users have purchased products
online, according to Statista, the
online statistics portal. If, conservatively,
40% of the world’s population
has an internet connection, then
that’s a potential customer base of
around 1.5 billion and rising.
Global “etail” sales are expected to
hit $1.5 trillion by 2018, with North
America currently the largest regional
market for online shopping, followed
by Asia/Oceania and Western Europe.
Consumers are happy to spend,
but their needs and expectations are
becoming ever more sophisticated,
and eCommerce sites have to work
harder from the outset to secure customer
confidence. Research shows
that 25% to 30% of online purchasers
choose to abandon their shopping
carts before payment is completed.
Creating a user-friendly website is
obviously imperative, but conquering
the domestic market is only half the
battle. When it comes to exporting
your products and services, take into
account parochial browsing habits,
heavily localized purchasing behaviors,
and contrasting delivery and returns
preferences from nation to nation.
One of the major problems for
startups is knowing how to localize
content and to what extent. Is it
scalable? In an environment where
every cent can make a difference, the
concept of exporting into new markets
means taking on a commitment
to go multilingual and factoring in
additional costs. Judging when the
costs outweigh the potential gains is a
distinct business skill.
Payvision, a global card processing
company, explains in the 2015 Key
Business Drivers and Opportunities
April/May 2016 43