An online retailer asked us:
How can we increase conversions from our Spanish speaking customers?
Our ecommerce client discovered Spanish speaking visitors were converting at a lower rate than English speaking visitors on their site. When tasked with increasing conversions, the Spanish-speaking market was identified as an opportunity to meet that goal.
In the US, more than 40 million people speak Spanish at home, making it second only to English. This is about 13% of the population. There are even more Spanish speakers in the US than in Spain. Clearly, this is a significant audience that our client wasn't able to reach at the same rate.
To address this issue, our client wanted to know if this market was able to shop on their Spanish-language storefront successfully and if there were friction points and opportunities for improvement. They also wanted to discover if users would be likely to return to the site and recommend it to others based on their experience.
We Answered:
Over time, our team has developed a number of best practices for conducting research with Hispanic and Latinx populations, especially when conducting research in Spanish.
To address our client's concerns, AnswerLab created a multi-round research program with bilingual participants who primarily spoke Spanish. A series of 60 minute in-depth interviews were conducted remotely by a bilingual moderator. Real-time translation was provided for client observers.
During the research, we observed participants as they explored the website to purchase products using either their own pre-existing accounts or an account provided. This allowed us to see their natural interactions with the site while they gave feedback on what they expected, and what they actually encountered as they went.
Participants were guided to complete specific tasks on the website, and afterwards were prompted to discuss their overall sentiments about the Spanish language version of the store.
Outcome:
Firsthand, native-language insights enabled the retailer to apply a more thoughtful design process, improve usability for a key customer segment, and improve brand perception more broadly.
Our research identified what mattered to the Spanish-speaking participants when designing a website for them. This feedback gave the client a clear set of recommendations so they could better meet their needs and increase the conversion rate. By doing so they could build trust and brand loyalty, making them more likely to revisit and recommend the website to others.
Discover our best practices for conducting research with Hispanic and Latinx populations.
