Cultural differences can negatively impact study outcomes when conducting international user research studies. Identify these differences and use 3 techniques to lower their effects.
Multiple support channels help global purchasers shop on your site smoothly and confidently. Choose at least two of the following: live chat, email, telephone, and social media.
International purchasers are more comfortable shopping in their own language. Follow these tips to make the language switcher on your site more discoverable and usable.
Livestreams that clarify key product features can be great add-ons for ecommerce. Determine the right platform and vibe, keep users engaged with rewards, and minimize the effort of checking out or reaching for support.
On ecommerce apps, livestream helps answer user questions in real time. On social-networking apps, it encourages shopping as a new way of entertainment.
Our Beijing-based user research team conducted a field study in automated restaurants that serve diners with no staff. Current designs have some advantages, but the UI is too complicated for customized ordering.
In products where user-generated content plays a crucial role, automatically translate it or provide a Translate All button to benefit global visitors.
Unmanned restaurant services are gaining varying degrees of adoption in China. Still, there are glitches in the whole self-service flow and areas where human services cannot be replaced.
When they shop for apparel items on global sites, users are concerned about sizing. Ease their concerns by providing corresponding local sizes, comprehensive size charts, and supplemental measurements.
The language-switching feature on ecommerce sites should be placed in the top corners on desktop sites and above the fold on mobile, with enough details and flexibility to satisfy user needs.
The recent expansion of facial recognition payment in China is hampered by the perception of weak security, incomplete UI feedback, and misleading mental models.
Usability studies with international users can be very informative, but if you don't speak the foreign language, you will need interpretation to understand the user (and for the user to understand you). These 5 guidelines will improve the value of translated research sessions.
User testing in different countries helps identify culturally specific usability issues. Testing correctly and at the right time will help you thrive in a new market.
Crosscultural design adaptations range from translation to localization. Researching general and contextual cultural differences helps you decide what type of design changes you should make.
Nonnative speakers rely on visual cues to navigate international sites presented in an unfamiliar language. Use imagery to support text and help these shoppers.
To solve big-scale design problems, Don Norman recommends engaging with the community that has these problems and leveraging existing creativity and experience.
The contrast between low-context and high-context cultures has substantial implications for web designs that target users in different countries. Examples from eyetracking research in China (a high-context culture) illustrate this point.
By understanding customers’ payment preferences and offering options that people are used to in their own country, sites can improve the checkout experience for international purchasers.
Inclusive design is a philosophy that redefines what it means to be human-centered. To design inclusively, designers need to respect and represent many different perspectives.
Cultural differences can negatively impact study outcomes when conducting international user research studies. Identify these differences and use 3 techniques to lower their effects.
Multiple support channels help global purchasers shop on your site smoothly and confidently. Choose at least two of the following: live chat, email, telephone, and social media.
International purchasers are more comfortable shopping in their own language. Follow these tips to make the language switcher on your site more discoverable and usable.
Our Beijing-based user research team conducted a field study in automated restaurants that serve diners with no staff. Current designs have some advantages, but the UI is too complicated for customized ordering.
Usability studies with international users can be very informative, but if you don't speak the foreign language, you will need interpretation to understand the user (and for the user to understand you). These 5 guidelines will improve the value of translated research sessions.
To solve big-scale design problems, Don Norman recommends engaging with the community that has these problems and leveraging existing creativity and experience.
The contrast between low-context and high-context cultures has substantial implications for web designs that target users in different countries. Examples from eyetracking research in China (a high-context culture) illustrate this point.
Inclusive design is a philosophy that redefines what it means to be human-centered. To design inclusively, designers need to respect and represent many different perspectives.
Social features (like online communities and experience sharing) are very popular in Chinese apps. This video offers examples and tips for adding social features to your product.
The language of your product is important when communicating with a global audience. Translation and localization are two different levels of adaptation.
Livestreams that clarify key product features can be great add-ons for ecommerce. Determine the right platform and vibe, keep users engaged with rewards, and minimize the effort of checking out or reaching for support.
On ecommerce apps, livestream helps answer user questions in real time. On social-networking apps, it encourages shopping as a new way of entertainment.
In products where user-generated content plays a crucial role, automatically translate it or provide a Translate All button to benefit global visitors.
Unmanned restaurant services are gaining varying degrees of adoption in China. Still, there are glitches in the whole self-service flow and areas where human services cannot be replaced.
When they shop for apparel items on global sites, users are concerned about sizing. Ease their concerns by providing corresponding local sizes, comprehensive size charts, and supplemental measurements.
The language-switching feature on ecommerce sites should be placed in the top corners on desktop sites and above the fold on mobile, with enough details and flexibility to satisfy user needs.
The recent expansion of facial recognition payment in China is hampered by the perception of weak security, incomplete UI feedback, and misleading mental models.
User testing in different countries helps identify culturally specific usability issues. Testing correctly and at the right time will help you thrive in a new market.
Crosscultural design adaptations range from translation to localization. Researching general and contextual cultural differences helps you decide what type of design changes you should make.
Nonnative speakers rely on visual cues to navigate international sites presented in an unfamiliar language. Use imagery to support text and help these shoppers.
By understanding customers’ payment preferences and offering options that people are used to in their own country, sites can improve the checkout experience for international purchasers.
In China, QR-code scanning and verification codes are popular mobile-login alternatives that circumvent the problem of remembering and typing passwords.
In China, websites must work harder than in other markets to gain users’ trust. Displaying the company’s local presence, past client work, and being available to answer questions via online chat are critical.
Testing finds that Chinese and Western users experience the same difficulties with complex sites, but Chinese tend to complain less about complexity and prefer fairly high information density.
QR-code scanning and shake serve as effective ways of communication between the online and the offline worlds and enjoy wider use in China than in the US.
International B2B sites should demonstrate regional presence, adapt to local conventions, and ensure that localized sites are consistent with a main site.
User research finds that tightly integrated services with simple and unified design make people use WeChat; mainly through traditional GUI interactions, not a “conversational UI.”
