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iStock 1221232083
iStock 1221232083

41% of Latin American consumers avoid purchasing from companies with poor translation


Latin America is a booming and incredibly promising market for e-commerce. With over 300 million online buyers, it’s no wonder so many international retailers want to tap into this goldmine.

Entering this market, however, presents a unique challenge: language. Latin America is one of the most linguistically diverse regions in the world, with almost 250 languages and dialects. Moreover, consumers there place great importance on accurate translations and appropriate use of language when buying from foreign companies.

In fact, we found that a staggering 41% of Latin American consumers actively avoid purchasing from companies with a poor translation on their websites.

In this context, it is clear that the impacts of bad translations can be significant for your company in this market.

The Cost of Poor Translation

Language mistakes are not just embarrassing – they’re expensive. When you sell to Latin American consumers you must take into consideration the local lingo and dialects.

One common mistake e-commerce businesses make is producing generic ‘one-size-fits-all’ content and relying on online translators. The result? A message filled with mistakes that fails to connect with consumers.

According to our study, 77% of Latin American consumers actually decide against buying a product from an international company due to inaccurate messaging on the merchant’s website, which can include poor or automated translations, non-representative images, as well as other completely avoidable errors.

What’s more, 45% get suspicious that a site is not authentic if they find errors in the text and images, and decide not to buy out of fear that it might be a scam.

It Goes Beyond the Website

So far, we’ve discussed how generic messages and poor translations on websites can impact a buyer’s intent. However, it goes far deeper under the surface.

We’ve found that customers may not even reach your website if your ads and search results contain language errors. In fact, 37% of Latin Americans decide not to click on an online advertisement when it contains poor messaging and inadequate translations.

This is because the message does not convey trust and does not speak to them, resulting in countless missed opportunities and a waste of your marketing efforts.

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Cultural Context and Local Expertise

Each country in Latin America is unique and, despite many of which sharing the same language, there are multiple dialectal and cultural differences. Certain words acquire specific cultural meanings, which can easily be lost when they are not translated by a native speaker or, even worse, by an online translator.

We love using online translators for certain tasks because they are quick and inexpensive, but bear in mind that they have their limitations and are unable to take cultural nuances into consideration.

Some apparently non-offensive words may have negative cultural or historical connotations that are not immediately evident during translation. This is why it is so important not only to translate content but also to adapt it to local contexts.

For example, back in the 1970s, Ford introduced the Ford Pinto into the Brazilian market. ‘Pinto’ in Portuguese translates to ‘chick’. So, it probably seemed like a harmless product name. However, in Brazilian slang, ‘pinto’ also refers to the male genitalia.

As you can imagine, the car didn’t sell well, and from that moment forward, this mistake served as a lesson to other companies on the importance of conducting thoughtful research and considering the local lingo and dialects before tapping into the Latin American market.

A Call for Cultural and Linguistic Sensitivity

As we’ve seen, the Latin American e-commerce sector is rich with opportunities. But the success of international companies highly depends on their ability to communicate effectively and sensitively with their audience.

Latin Americans take huge pride in their diverse cultures, dialects and native languages. When consumers feel that brands are making the effort to understand, respect and celebrate  their language and culture, they are more likely to form loyal relationships.

So, investing time and money in understanding and adapting your message to the linguistic and cultural nuances of Latin America is definitely worth your while. It can help you build trust, foster brand loyalty and be successful when you decide to tap into the immense potential of this vibrant region.

We hope these statistics serve as a wake-up call to e-commerce businesses all over the world considering breaking into this market, and help them understand that for Latin Americans, avoiding poor translation and culturally insensitive messages is more than just a preference; it’s a necessity.

If you want to learn more about the impacts of bad language on your ecommerce in the Latin American market and access more valuable statistics, you should check out Sherlock’s full report. This article only covers a small part of the valuable information available in the complete study.

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