The Arabic retail industry has recently been a particularly fickle sector that’s heavily influenced by external factors such as, oil prices, inflation and now of course, VAT.
It has been reported by Arab News that the early months of this year (2018) suggested a continued decline in trade, even for well-known companies such as, Dubai retailer Marka, who posted deepening losses for 2017, with income down 68 percent.
However, this lull in the market might well give retail businesses within the UAE, the necessary boost to explore new avenues for income.
These new markets are most likely to be found on the internet. Alain Bejjani, the chief executive of Majid Al Futtaim, told Arab News, while discussing their recent slowing growth, that “Majid Al Futtaim’s diverse businesses and the markets in which we operate are experiencing rapid change and new innovations. At the same time, our region continues to face volatility, our competition is becoming global and the needs of our customers continue to evolve.”
He added that the expansion into new avenues would ensure the company became as prominent digitally, as it was physically, in order to drive sales, “resilience and competitiveness”.
In order to increase retail potential online, it is worth considering how a professional translation service provider can help you to access new markets.
The following tips are some of the more important aspects of the translation process that should be considered when using translation services for a retail business:
Multilingual SEO
In order for new customers to find your online store, they will most likely complete a web based search using Google, or a similar search engine.
The words that they use within the search are called ‘keywords’. These keywords are one of the most important aspects of enabling customers to find you, and knowing what they are (in each different location and language) will allow you to create content for your site loaded with these keywords.
Understanding the demographics of your audience – their age range, status, gender, language and so on – will allow you to target your keywords to fit your potential customers. For instance, if you are a Dubai based clothing company looking to branch out to the UK, you should consider how your target audience may vary from the original location.
A professional translation team can assist with this through the localisation of your website.
Localisation offers the chance to tailor your retail site specifically to capture the SEO keywords that would be best suited to your target audience. Factors such as, local dialects, idioms, humour, and so on, are modified to fit with the demographics you require for your site.
Using a quality translation team will ensure your online presence is sustainable, accurate, and, offers you good value for money.
First Impressions
No matter what we like to think we all make snap decisions about something from our first impression, whether this be an individual, or an online retail store – we frequently judge a book by its cover!
In order to make the best first impression upon your customers, you need to be sure they’ll like what they see.
A retail site that has been localised should be set up with the correct content, images, language, tone, colour, and formatting for each specific location.
Localisation providers know what is appropriate for each audience and location, adapting your content to fit with the expected norms of the culture and market.
Translation alone is often not enough to take account of subtle nuances and differences in language, and messages, branding, or products may be misinterpreted or misjudged.
Product Description
Search engines have begun to change the way they assess website content, and companies can be penalised for duplicating content.
In order to market your products effectively, you’ll need to give accurate, and in depth, descriptions of the products you are selling.
This can be tricky when attempting to avoid duplicating content.
Your translation and localisation team should help with creating content that is both articulate, and original, and also is still applicable to your global audiences.
Customer Service
If a customer fails to understand your products, sizing, pricing, order details, returns policy, and so on, they are likely to need to contact customer services, either through an online method such as messaging, or via telephone.
In order to provide a good customer service, it will be necessary to translate, and localise, your site for each new location.
This will ensure that clients can communicate with customer services in their own language, giving them reassurance, and faith in your brand.
It has been suggested that up to 75% of consumers would prefer to deal with a company that offers customer services in their native language, and as many as 60% have said they only ever purchase from a site that is localised specifically to their language and location.
A successful global retail website takes hard work to create and maintain, but with the help of a professional translation and localisation team you’ll be sure to get it right first time.
Creative Word can help ensure this process is straightforward, keeping you informed along the way, and providing an accurate, original localisation and translation of your retail site.
