by Nick Iuliucci
Our clients ask us some challenging research questions. As the global marketplace continues to mature one of the main questions asked is
Can we adjust the language on our current website to Spanish?
Will the site still have the same level of usability?
Challenge accepted! In an effort to better understand the impact of language and culture on multi-lingual businesses initiatives, we designed the first in a series of studies that use eye-tracking methodologies to measure the impact of the anthropological layer of subjective culture how it relates to web design elements, by deconstructing variations in gaze patterns.
We recruited 30 respondents (all from the US) and asked them to view two versions of the Best Buy site. One site in English and the other site in Spanish. Best Buy is a 1-to-1 site where language is the only difference in site design. The eye-tracking data showed that respondents who self-report as Hispanic and identify with the Spanish culture and language did demonstrate differences in gaze patterns versus those that identified with the English culture and language.
The chart below represents how cultural orientation manifests as a change in circular eye scanning on the English site.
This difference can be interpreted in two ways:
1) Respondents who are familiar with US cultural and language (English) are able to processes the information on the page rapidly allowing them time to shift around the page to items they prefer.
2) From a cognitive processing point of view, the US culture promotes a rapid short term attention approach instead of a deeper individual understanding of a site.
The second chart represents the eye scanning pattern difference on the Spanish site. Those with high U.S. cultural orientation scan the Spanish site but this time with a lack of the circular pattern. While our study is preliminary, it does support the idea that Spanish culturally-orientated individuals also show a shift in circular scan vs scan-only gaze patterns between the two sites.
Regardless of the complex anthropological or psychological foundations, the result represent directional data that seems to indicate that just translating the language of the site to match a new market, is not optimal if you are trying to maximize usability and maintain the desire experience for consumers.
While this difference requires further exploration, the impact on marketing approach and usability design are substantial. The Hispanic population in the US in 2013 was almost 53 million (17% of total), and will only continue to grow. To ignore that visual consumption of websites differs based on cultural background may alienate a growing customer base. Furthermore, all the respondents in this study currently live in the US, half in New York State and the rest in Florida. This is a clear demonstration that our cultural orientation identification method coupled with eye-tracking methodology provides a unique way to differentiate sub populations within a region.
Follow-up studies will further explore the potential of eye tracking tools to help us understand the cultural divergence between American and Hispanic-orientated individuals. If you would like a copy of the presentation, please contact us at sales@keylimeinteractive.com
Learn more about the growth of the Hispanic market:
US Census: Profile America Facts for Features “Hispanic Heritage Month” Huffington Post: Hispanic Population Facts: A Look At Latinos By The Numbers Pew Research Center: The U.S. Hispanic population has increased sixfold since 1970
Latino Populations Are Growing Fastest Where We Aren’t Looking
Nick Iuliucci will share research findings at the 16th Annual International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction | June 2014 – Crete, Greece
As leaders in usability, KLI is committed to innovation and thought leadership via global usability conferences. KLI has been invited to present our study titled Cultural Divergence In Website Interaction: Spanish Vs. English. The paper is co-authored by Ania Rodriguex and Nick Iuliucci. They will be be discussing the impact of eye tracking methodologies to examine the anthropological layer of subjective culture and how it relates to web design elements.
Localization of websites to native culture is a common practice among organization and companies. This method assumes a singular design structure per cultural group, essentially clustering individuals into their dominate culture, even in instances of dual cultural identity. Dual cultural identity refers to the occurrence that people can strongly associate with two cultural and that these both influence perception and expectations. This creates of binary spectrum of identity, which is the focus of the research.
Using eye-tracking in concert with self-identification survey methods patterns of website gaze behavior have been investigated for their potential to reveal cultural identity aspects that influence deviations in perception. This is the first of many studies that KLI intends to conduct to understand the degree that cultural identity influences perception and expectations of our users
Key Lime Interactive’s Mobile Insurance Report Identifies Allstate as the Only Carrier in the Top 8 to Offer Mobile Properties in Spanish
In 2009 Allstate made it clear that they were working to ensure effective communication and business practices with both the English and Spanish speaking US communities in which they offered their services. They integrated a Spanish-language national marketing campaign, complete with targeted tv spots and a Spanish website version that continued through 2010 and beyond. Today, those business goals remain unchanged and separate Allstate from their competitors. In a recent study by the marketing research and usability company Key Lime Interactive, it was reported that of the top 8 US auto insurance providers, Allstate was the only provider who offered their mobile solutions in Spanish.
The report included Allstate Mobile, GEICO, Liberty Mutual Mobile, Nationwide Mobile, Progressive, State Farm Pocket Agent, Travelers and USAA and was largely focused on combining a set of consumer determined desired features and capabilities and ranking how well each carrier met those stated needs. Although Allstate did not rank first in overall mobile experience for their app or their msite, the availability of their properties to be accessible to the Spanish speaking community was one area in which they stood alone.
Last week, BIGresearch reported that more Hispanic adults reported mobile device usage than all US adults. For example, the survey indicated that iphone usage is 6.6% higher for Hispanics. Allstate is taking note and staying ahead.
“Given the size and growth of the US Hispanic segment, this is certainly a wise decision to align business goals to target this consumer with the consumer experiences in an effort to retain consumers” reports Ania Rodriguez, founder of KLI. “Our research has indicated that the Hispanic population is brand loyal and community oriented. Companies who localize their mobile properties to Spanish properly present a competitive edge nowadays.”
KLI’s next iteration of this mobile auto insurance report is due out in June. “It will be interesting to see if any of the other players recognize the importance of Spanish localization to appeal to this market and follow suit.”
Additional Report Information: The report titled Mobile Competitive Review: Auto Insurance is a quarterly syndicated study published by Key Lime Interactive. The report combines a consumer response survey (n=300) where the most desirable mobile features were identified and prioritized. This priority list was compared to the available feature sets of each of the relevant carriers and ultimately the carriers were ranked on their ability to meet consumer needs in a usable way. For more information on this report or to purchase a subscription, please reach out to Key Lime Interactive directly.
