Amazon’s launch in 1995 helped to set off an online retail revolution that has since redefined how commerce is conducted around the world. Today, the global retail market generates an estimated $4.8 trillion in revenue annually with some 2.77 billion consumers expected to make an online purchase this year, constituting roughly 23% of all retail sales.
For many retailers, expanding business operations internationally can prove a challenging process. Beyond operational and supply chain considerations, retailers must also adapt to local market conditions and customer proclivities in each region. Here are four key strategies for brands looking to break into global commerce in 2025 to consider.
Marketing efforts must be localized, machine translation can help
Today’s global marketplace offers consumers unparalleled choice and convenience, allowing online purchasers to be picky about where they shop. A 2020 CSA Research survey found that 65% of respondents prefer interacting with content in their own language and four out of ten would not purchase products from websites presented in another language.
It is therefore vital that brands localize their marketing content to feel inherently native, accessible and familiar to their international audience. By doing so, brands can better connect with buyers, improve engagement, and ensure that their messaging resonates with customers.
Effective content localization requires more than simply translating written content. It must also conform to the target market’s cultural preferences. Doing so for multiple markets compounds the amount of work required, but machine translation technologies can help streamline this process.
Machine translation systems leverage artificial intelligence and natural language processing to automatically translate and transcribe text from one language to another. It enables retailers to more efficiently evaluate their content’s performance across various engagement metrics and quickly identify which messaging best resonates with the target audience.
Prepare for local regulatory requirements
It doesn’t matter how accurately brand messaging is localized to the target market if the company’s products can’t legally be sold there in the first place. Maintaining international compliance — the adherence to a strict set of rules and regulations which govern how a company conducts business in each market, such as labeling requirements, import restrictions, and data protection — is both beneficial in establishing a favorable reputation in that region and a legal requirement.
Take the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), as an example. Enacted in 2018, the GDPR dictates how companies implement technical and administrative controls to protect their customers’ personal data. Companies subject to GDPR are barred from processing customer data unless they have an explicit lawful basis to do so, as defined by one of six specific provisions, such as requiring the company to receive explicit consent from the customer that their data be used for a specific purpose.
Companies that run afoul of the GDPR’s statutes can find themselves subject to a series of increasingly costly penalties ranging from simple warnings for minor or first time infractions, to financial penalties of up to $23 million or as much as 4% of a company’s total revenue for severe or recurring violations.
Localization efforts must also extend to new and diverse payment options
Venmo and PayPal may be the preferred digital wallets for online shoppers in the West, but in China Alipay and WeChat Pay reign supreme with nine out of ten Chinese online consumers using them for purchases. The same holds true with credit cards. 93% of Chinese consumers opt for the nation’s domestic UnionPay service rather than VIsa or MasterCard.
Rapidly digitizing markets like the Middle East are, “on the cusp of a payments revolution,” according to McKinsey. Similarly, a new generation of young, tech-savvy online shoppers in North Africa are driving the rapid adoption of Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) services such as Nigeria’s CredPal or Ghana’s Motito, which offer short-term loans so consumers can split a purchase into multiple interest-free installments.
Just as adapting content enables customers in foreign markets to more naturally interact with a brand’s messaging, retailers must localize their payment options to the local market to ensure seamless transactions and make purchasing as convenient as possible for their international customers.
Customer service support must be available when shoppers need it
It’s not just a matter of localizing the content of their marketing materials, brands need to have help available when their customers arrive. Providing assistance that understands the local culture and language can help prevent misunderstandings and conflict, build brand loyalty, and increase revenue.
Though they won’t likely ever fully replace human representatives, customer service chatbots can provide a cost-effective solution to answering customer queries. These AI agents excel at automating repetitive tasks like quickly answering FAQs, fielding basic customer queries, and streamlining product returns. This eases the workload of human reps, enabling them to focus on more involved customer issues.
They can also help boost sales by promoting products and making personalized recommendations. What’s more, chatbot representatives are available 24/7 no matter where the customer is in the world.
Overcoming the challenges of global retail offers lucrative opportunities
Expanding a retail business into the global economy is a complex and extensive task fraught with financial, reputational, and regulatory risk. However, companies capable of navigating the challenges of communicating with customers in their preferred languages, maintaining international compliance, incorporating support for regional payment platforms, and providing localized customer service stand to profit from their access to new international markets and economic opportunities.
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About the author
Michelle Wood oversees the merchant network side of the Wildfire Systems platform. Her team builds productive partnerships with online retailers and affiliate networks, bringing them into the Wildfire platform and improving their incremental revenue opportunities. With over 16 years of experience in digital media, affiliate marketing and influencer media sales, Michelle has worked with many of the world’s most notable enterprise e-commerce companies to acquire new and loyal customers and exceed revenue targets with positive ROI. Prior to Wildfire, she held executive positions with leading performance marketing companies including ShopAtHome.com and Coupons.com.
