The document discusses the importance of cultural considerations in digital design for global e-commerce, emphasizing that simplistic translation is inadequate for engaging foreign markets. It introduces the concept of 'culturability,' which relates culture to usability and highlights the impact of cultural maturity on user experience. The Critical Mass Cultural Maturity Model is proposed to analyze digital solutions across three tiers—agnostic, comprehensible, and contextual—illustrating the varying levels of investment required based on cultural understanding and technological capabilities.

1. Bry Willis, Senior Business Analyst
Daniel B. Honigman, Senior Planner (Contributor)
September 2013
CULTURAL
IMPACTON DIGITAL DESIGN

2. With global eCommerce sales projected to
top$1.25trillionby2013andChina’seCom-
merce market growing at 130% a year I
the promise of expansion into international
markets is alluring.II
Unfortunately, many companies do not consider the impli-
cations of engaging a new foreign market through digital
channels, which go beyond simply translating copy.
Indeed, websites designed for international users are often
criticised because they appear to be little more than slightly
modified designs that ignore the cultural sensibilities of the
new target audience.
Such negligence can have considerable impact on the bot-
tom line. Simply put, visitors are willing to spend more at an
ecommerce site with which they can identify.
On average, international Fortune 500 companies that in-
vest in localisation make $25 for every $1 spent, and the
biggest companies in the software industry make at least
half of their sales in non-English speaking markets.III
Inversely, as far back as 2007, Forrester Research not-
ed that global businesses are losing market share worth
as much as $1.6 billion per year, or $4.7 billion over three
years, by failing to localise product information.IV
Suffice to
say, knowing what such expansion entails is essential.
© 2013 Critical Mass, Inc. All Rights Reserved | Cultural Impact on Digital Design 02
INTRODUCTION
LOSTINTRANSLATION

3. It will be useful for our purposes to define the cultural frame-
work for the development of digital solutions. It goes beyond
issues of idiomatic language and customs to encompass
unique cognitive styles, as well as the needs and preferences
of the population of a country or a certain region.V
There are
also issues of technological penetration and infrastructure,
all of which inform the principle of “culturability.”
© 2013 Critical Mass, Inc. All Rights Reserved | Cultural Impact on Digital Design 03
CULTURE
IS EVERYTHING

4. Culturability is a term used to emphasize the relationship
between culture and usability in design.VI
This relationship directly impacts the user’s perception of
credibility and trustworthiness of a WebsiteVII
and can be
detailed through a range of criteria. Such details, effectively
considered, can have far-reaching impact, as noted by T.
Clemmensen in his 2011 study:
Interaction design and usability have become important
contributors to economic and cultural development in emer-
gent economies in today’s global distribution of the use and
production of information and communication technology. VIII
© 2013 Critical Mass, Inc. All Rights Reserved | Cultural Impact on Digital Design 04
CULTURABILITY

5. A practical framework to assess culturability is the Critical
Mass Cultural Maturity Model (below). This model breaks
out the key elements that impact a website’s potential to
deliver the greatest comfort level to users. A developed cul-
tural maturity model ascribes website maturity across three
tiers, ranging from agnostic (low investment) to contextual
(high investment), with an underlying foundation of techno-
logical capability considerations.
AGNOSTIC
Smaller companies may not have the desire or resources to
justify creating site content and functionality outside of its
own language and culture. This approach would force users
in other regions to rely on mechanical translation services,
such as Google Translate, to allow access to content, prod-
ucts and services. This low cultural maturity tier naturally
promises limited returns.
COMPREHENSIBLE
A comprehensible site offers content basically translated
for another region. Such a mid-level maturity investment
provides the basic ability for a person to digest content in
their native language, while also including some localisa-
tion, such as an appropriate character set and culturally
relevant notations (e.g., currency symbols, and incidental
revision to imagery).
CONTEXTUAL
The highest level of investment deeply incorporates ele-
ments of a culture to create an experience that will feel more
comfortable to a regional user. A contextually mature design
includes taxonomical considerations, idiomatic language,
and cultural markers, as well as differences in the way dif-
ferent cultures process information.
CRITICAL MASS CULTURAL MATURITY MODEL
© 2013 Critical Mass, Inc. All Rights Reserved | Cultural Impact on Digital Design 05
MEASURING
CULTURABILITY
CAPABILITY
LESS MATURE MORE MATURE
Source language
Mechanical translation
Professional translation
Symbolic notation
Minor image revisions
Idiomatic language
Cultural imagery
Iconography
Cultural markers
Colours
Taxonomy

6. CAPABILITY
Defining the fundamental aspects of expansion, capability
pertains to regional attributes that impact access to con-
tent, such as Internet penetration, average and peak band-
width, device prominence, and even browser version. Even if
a business fully embraces a robust, fully contextual cultural
experience, it may be encumbered by capability factors spe-
cific to a given geographic location.
ACCESS AND BANDWIDTH
For regions with low Internet penetration, it may not make
financial sense to create a specially tailored Web presence.
Even where penetration is adequate, low bandwidth will re-
quire a unique design strategy to mitigate “heavy” graphics
and rich media.
DEVICE
In many developing countries, particularly in more remote
regions, the primary, if not sole, connected device might be
a small-glass mobile device, so image and content strate-
gies must be adapted to accommodate these users. IE6 is
still the dominant browser technology used in China and
other regions, so accommodation for this legacy needs to be
considered as well.
PAYMENT
When it comes to e-commerce sites, in addition to tech-
nology capabilities, payment options also need to be con-
sidered. For regions with low credit card penetration, Cash
on Delivery is a more popular means of settling payments,
and debit cards cannot be used to shop online in much
of Europe and Latin America, which limits facilitation of
online transactions.IX
In some other regions, many small-sized retailers do not of-
fer credit card as a payment option because of high trans-
action fees and safety concerns.
Once the foundational capabilities of a given region are
carefully assessed, the unique goals and limitations of a
business should be considered, bringing the tiers of the
model into play.
© 2013 Critical Mass, Inc. All Rights Reserved | Cultural Impact on Digital Design 06

7. © 2013 Critical Mass, Inc. All Rights Reserved | Cultural Impact on Digital Design 07
BANDWITH CONSIDERATIONS (MPBS)

8. While the Cultural Maturity Model defines the level of invest-
ment, there are many details to that investment to consider,
particularly when pursuing a contextual site.
CULTURAL MARKERS
Display Density, Clicking Clues, Colour, and Imagery are
some examples of cultural markers. For example, link de-
tection for Chinese users is primarily conveyed through font,
colour and cursor shape, whereas Western users identi-
fy links by underlining of words. Colour can have different
connotations for different cultures or even religion. Red, for
example means happiness in China, but connotes danger in
the U.S., and green is associated with Islam, so it may not be
a good choice in countries dealing with conflicts over Islam.X
TAXONOMY
Variance in word associations is often overlooked as a fac-
tor in globalisation. In a 2004 study, people from different
cultures were asked to indicate which two of three words—
panda, monkey and banana—go together. Westerners re-
lated monkey and panda (categorical relationship), while
Asians related monkey with banana (thematic relationship).
This cultural difference can have a huge impact on nomen-
clature and user experience.XI
CHARACTER VARIANCE
Languages that do not use the Latin alphabet are also an
important consideration. Asian ideographic writing can be
particularly problematic, as sizes and embellishments are
limited. Many sites attempt to solve these complications by
displaying images instead of fonts, but this creates other
issues, including increased site maintenance costs and de-
pressed SEO rankings.
Moreover, form input with these characters can be daunt-
ing, so pinyin, a form of phonetic writing, can be used to
mitigate the problem.
© 2013 Critical Mass, Inc. All Rights Reserved | Cultural Impact on Digital Design 08
THE ELEMENTS OF CONTEXTUAL DESIGN

9. Beyond the visual cues, how different cultures take in the
information on a page can vary radically. In eye tracking ex-
periments, Americans tend to scan a page from left to right,
top to bottom to create a distinctive F-pattern. Chinese em-
ploy a broader scan patterns, extending their glance further
rightward and downward, which has implications in page
layout. Furthermore, users in the United States are “active”
viewers, which means that they will search for information,
while a “passive” viewer will scan the page. If the informa-
tion cannot be found easily, the user is likely to give up.
Organisational anthropologist Geert Hofstede identified the
cultural dimension of uncertainty avoidance (UA), which
measures the user’s general aversion to unexpected results.
Websites designed for cultures with high UA should employ
a simple design with limited choices. In addition, well-ren-
dered mental models and help systems help reduce “user
errors,” so results or implications of actions are revealed
before a user acts.
© 2013 Critical Mass, Inc. All Rights Reserved | Cultural Impact on Digital Design 09
PERCEPTUAL
CONSIDERATIONS

10. Unambiguous metaphors reinforce this, as do redundant
cues in the form of colour, typography, sound, and so on.
Special care should be taken in navigation schemes to pre-
vent users from becoming lost, and essential information
should not be “hidden” below the fold.XIII
Culture also shapes perspective. Richard Nisbett observed
how Americans and Japanese people perceived a virtual
aquarium. The participants were shown images of a fish
tank with changing background and foreground objects.
American viewers concentrated on the foreground, on the
so-called focal fish, but Japanese viewers also referenced
the background objects. For a Web page, this means that
there may be opportunities to present a Japanese viewer with
related products and offers in addition to a focal product.
While this approach may induce task abandonment with
people in countries with high Uncertainty Avoidance, it may
create incremental sales elsewhere. This applies to site lay-
out as well as image composition.
Aside from layout and visual cues, a site’s processes, fea-
tures and content are also essential elements of its cultural
maturity. For example, in the United States, consumers pre-
fer a streamlined checkout process, but some Asian cultures
prefer more choices. In one study, a more succinct checkout
page tested worse against another more complex page.XIV
Likewise, cultures have differing degrees of comfort for so-
cial networks, including how engaged they are with ratings
and reviews on eCommerce sites. Collectivist cultures are
more apt than individualist cultures to share ratings, re-
views, and other content, including product images and
unboxing videos. Immediate access to live support is more
important for these cultures.
© 2013 Critical Mass, Inc. All Rights Reserved | Cultural Impact on Digital Design 10
LOCAL CUSTOMS IN
THE DIGITAL AGE

11. It almost goes without saying that companies need to adapt
to local trends to better ensure success when considering
entry into new markets. Even as the world gets smaller, and
global consumers become more alike, there is still a wide
range of local difference in consumer behaviours.XV
But before making the leap to target an international mar-
ket, or even considering the employment for a culturally ma-
ture design, key goals and a solid strategy will be useful in
mapping out the scope of the initiative. The considerations
outlined here are just a sampling of what is possible, but de-
termining the appropriate solution will be the key to success.
Even then, as with all Website implementations, multivariate
testing is strongly recommended.
© 2013 Critical Mass, Inc. All Rights Reserved | Cultural Impact on Digital Design 11
A ROADMAP
TO SUCCESS

12. Critical Mass, with offices worldwide, creates extraordinary experience that bring together creative thinking, smart ideas, and
emerging technologies to drive our clients’ businesses.
For more information about Critical Mass, visit us at http://criticalmass.com.
In North America, contact Diane Heun,
VP Business Development at
newbusiness@criticalmass.com
or +1 312 705 4190.
In Europe, contact Susanne Jones,
SVP Managing Director at
newbusiness.europe@criticalmass.com
or +44 20 3077 1350.
In Latin America, contact Jaime Escobar,
General Manager at
newbusiness.latam@criticalmass.com
or +1 855 242 6427.
In Asia, contact Ellen Chng,
Operations Director at
cm.apac@criticalmass.com
or +44 20 3077 1358
© 2013 Critical Mass, Inc. All Rights Reserved | Cultural Impact on Digital Design 12
ABOUT CRITICAL MASS

13. I
A. Montaqim. Global e-commerce sales will top $1.25 trillion by
2013, Internet Retailer, June 14, 2012 (citing Interactive Media In
Retail Group) http://www.internetretailer.com/2012/06/14/global-e-
commerce-sales-will-top-125-trillion-2013 (retrieved 9 July 2013)
II
A. Fiola et al. (2011) The Aesthetic Dimensions of U.S. and South
Korean Responses to Web Home Pages: A Cross-Cultural Comparison,
Intl. Journal of Human–Computer Interaction, 27(2), pp. 131–150
III
Fortune 500 Companies and Localization http://citygatels.com/for-
tune-500-companies-and-localization/ June 12, 2013 (retrieved 10
July 2013)
A similar study by the Localization Industry Standards Association
conducted a similar study and obtained the same results. LISA fo-
cused on technology companies and found that, for every euro spent
in localization, the revenue was on average 25 euros.
IV
Devine (2007) Forrester Research
V
A. Kralisch et al. (2005) Impact of Culture on Website Navigation
Behaviour
VI
W. Barber and A. Badre (1998) Culturability: The merging of cul-
ture and usability, Conference on Human Factors and the Web, http://
research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/people/marycz/hfweb98/barber/
(retrieved 8 July 2013)
VII
I. Kondratova and I. Goldfarb (2011) Culturally Appropriate Web
User Interface Design Study, IGI Global
VIII
T. Clemmensen (2011) Handbook of Research on Culturally-Aware
Information Technology, A Framework for Thinking about the Maturity
of Cultural Usability
IX
B. Ensor. Succeeding in Global eCommerce, Forrester, unpublished
client presentation, March 13, 2013
X
International Journal of Design
http://www.ijdesign.org/ojs/index.php/IJDesign/article/view/286/
XI
R. Nisbett (2004) The Geography of Thought: How Asians and West-
erners Think Differently ... and Why, Free Press, pp. 89-92
XII
Hofstede, “Cultures and Organizations,” 2010.
XIII
A. Marcus and W. Gould (2000) Cultural Dimensions and Global
Web Design: What? So What? Now What? 6th conference on human
factors and the Web (AM+A 2001)
XIV
UX Magazine, Article No. 796, March 1, 2012 http://uxmag.com/
articles/ux-testing-and-cultural-preferences (retrieved 8 July 2013)
XV
PwC’s Multichannel Retail Survey 2012. (2013) Demystifying the
online shopper 10 myths of multichannel retailing.
© 2013 Critical Mass, Inc. All Rights Reserved | Cultural Impact on Digital Design 13

14. CULTURAL IMPACT ON DIGITAL DESIGN
August 2013
© 2013 Critical Mass, Inc. All Rights Reserved