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E-commerce has exposed retailers to a world of customers. The savviest companies know that truly resonating with buyers means communicating with them in their own languages. If you want to engage global buyers, where do you start?
Take a look at these 10 fast-emerging languages of global consumers, based on rate of e-commerce growth and number of native speakers:
Russia is a hot spot for e-commerce penetration. Fueled by a largely young population of technologically savvy buyers, Russia's Internet market could triple in the next three years. According to Morgan Stanley, "Russia is the last major emerging market without a dominant online retailer. Russia is at an inflection point."
Currently, Russia lacks a dominant e-commerce platform like Amazon or Ali Baba. The market is wide open for Russian-language e-commerce retailers who want to capitalize on new, motivated buyers in their native language.
While global leaders have traditionally relied on English to conduct business in India, the country’s burgeoning middle-class entrepreneurs have upended that custom. Today, the importance of linguistic diversification is perhaps nowhere more obvious than in India, which has a whopping 22 official languages.
Speaking at the Wharton School of Business, Shiv Khemka, a member of the Lauder board and vice chairman of the SUN Group, said, "It is no longer a few large industrial groups that control the Indian economy. Many of these young entrepreneurs feel comfortable [doing business] in Hindi. So it is extremely important for business people and students who want to do business in India and understand the culture to speak good Hindi."
Today, the U.S. government states that "Japan is the third largest—and one of the fastest growing—e-commerce markets in the world. The growth rate has become stable over the past few years, with annual growth estimated at 9.1% in 2017. With Internet penetration estimated at 93.3% of the population, Japan represents a significant market opportunity."
Despite widespread English education, relatively few Japanese citizens speak the language fluently. In Japan, the language of trade is still Japanese—and to succeed with this prosperous island’s customers, retailers will need to engage with them in their language.
West Africa is home to Nigeria, the continent's most populated country. Here, millions of people are increasingly making online purchases. A major African leader in the IT boom, Nigeria helped position the nation as an emerging market for e-commerce. While cyber crime and logistical issues present some challenges, the opportunities in Nigeria are enormous for retailers who can capture attention and trust from the nation’s Hausa-speaking digital natives.
Although many Hindi and Bengali words derive from Sanskrit, the two languages are not mutually intelligible. Therefore, any e-commerce business working in India needs to provide services in (at least!) both.
India's Internet user base of 475 million people is the second-largest in the world behind China’s. India still trails the U.S., France, and a handful of other countries in e-commerce market penetration, but the country’s sheer size compensates for its relatively small (for now) market penetration. Internet business is booming in India, and now is the time to get in.
In particular, Brazil holds a vast population of Portuguese speakers. Home to Latin America's largest e-commerce market, the world's fourth-largest Internet market, and fifth-largest smartphone market, Brazil is a country upon which savvy retailers have trained their proverbial eye.
Thanks to pervasive smartphone use and Internet penetration, Indonesia’s middle class enjoys more purchasing power than ever before. Because Indonesians on average speak less English than their South Asian peers, facility with local language is incredibly important for e-commerce businesses that want to move products into this booming market.
A business’ ability to communicate in Tagalog opens a cultural door to the retail-minded and highly digital population of the Philippines (about 63% of Filipinos use the Internet). According to the U.S. government, "The rising middle class, high consumer spending, and a young and vibrant, tech-savvy population is driving e-commerce forward by leaps and bounds."
U.S. officials say that "In Poland, e-commerce is one of the most important drivers for economic development, contributing to the rapid growth of logistics operations." Already, Poland is serving as a hub for many e-commerce companies that operate in Europe, such as Amazon and Zalando.
Much like Indonesian, Vietnamese is a crucial language for retailers hoping to tap into the emerging Southeast Asian digital marketplace.
You need to communicate with them in their native languages. As technological and economic advances yield a growing group of interested buyers, the language requirements for retailers just keep growing.
Don’t worry—we’re here to help. Our global team can translate and localize your content in 350+ languages.
Ready to get started? Reach out today to learn more.