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Idiom Announces Underwriting Of Common Sense Advisory Report On The Impact Of Website Language On Consumer Buying Trends

Survey of Over 2,400 Consumers in Eight Countries Reveals that Language Proficiency and Nationality Matter to Consumers When Buying a Company's Products and Services Online

Waltham, Massachusetts, USA - October 4, 2006 - Idiom^® Technologies, Inc. (Idiom), the leading independent provider of scalable software solutions for accelerating and optimizing globalization initiatives, today announced that the company co-underwrote a new report released by independent research firm Common Sense Advisory. The findings of the report underscore the key role that content translation can play in consumer buying patterns; according to the results, most people prefer to buy online in their own language, and, in fact, the majority in some countries will pay more for a product packaged with information in their own language.

In the report "Can't Read, Won't Buy - Why Language Matters on Global Websites" (Sept. '06), Common Sense Advisory analyzes the online global buying preferences of more than 2,400 consumers from eight non-Anglophone countries in Europe, Asia, and South America. Specifically, the research was conducted to assess online language preference and its subsequent impact on purchasing decisions. Factors including nationality, English-language proficiency, brand, and the ability to conduct transactions in foreign currencies were included in the study.

The data collected substantiates the theory that businesses can dramatically increase their potential customer base by localizing their Web content to the native languages of audiences outside of the U.S. Among other things, the study findings revealed that more than half (52.4%) of consumers buy only from websites where information is presented in their native language.

"We chose to underwrite this survey because it addressed the issues that are truly critical to our customers, particularly around the global need for localization strategies and solutions," said Mike Iacobucci, president and chief executive officer, Idiom Technologies, Inc. "As Idiom continues to expand into Europe and Asia, we appreciate that an industry expert has validated our approach by quantifying the need for enterprises to globalize their content in order to target new markets."

Lead analyst on the report, Don DePalma, addresses the significance of the findings to global businesses: "Many firms still debate whether it makes business sense for them to globalize their online marketing, online commerce sites, and call centers. There is a longstanding assumption that enough people on the web feel comfortable using English, especially when buying high-tech or expensive products. Nonetheless, research dating back to 1998 indicates a high propensity for people to buy in their own language. But until now, there has been no large-scale behavioral study of consumers to validate this preference."

For a complete summary of the report findings, please visit www.commonsenseadvisory.com or http://www.idiominc.com

Additional data from the report includes:
Can't read, won't buy

•	The report breaks out results by the level of English competence among those surveyed. Those with no-or-low English spent most or all of their time on sites in their own language (88.3%), but that number dropped to 60.6 percent for those who had some ability in English.
•	Just 10 percent of the low-or-no English participants make most or all of their online purchases from Anglophone websites, compared to 37 percent of the English-speaking group. Even for those who can read English, more than 60 percent prefer buying from sites in their own language.
•	Those respondents with no-or-low English were six times more likely to "rarely or never buy from English-language websites" than their countrymen who felt more confident in their English skills.

Most will pay more for products with information in their own language

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Common Sense Advisory proposed that "when faced with the choice of buying two similar products, I am more likely to purchase the one that is less expensive even if it does not have product information in my own language." In the total sample, 43.8 percent would opt for the cheaper product over the one with their language. However, 64.3 percent of the no-or-low English group would pay more for information they could read in their own language. Those with English proficiency were split nearly 50/50 on this proposition.

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The no-or-low English segment was four times more likely to buy products offered and documented in their own languages (82.5% agreed), while 65.5 percent of the English-proficient respondents favored local-language products.

Who should read the report?
Organizations doing business internationally; interested in building a business case for website globalization, targeted marketing, and product localization; or providing the tools and services for e-commerce will benefit from downloading the report. A summary of the findings is available now at www.commonsenseadvisory.com or at any of the underwriters' websites.

Additional Background on the Report
The eight-nation survey, which included Brazil, China, France, Germany, Japan, Russia, Spain, and Turkey, was completed in July and August 2006 by a company specializing in consumer panels around the world. All surveys were conducted in the official language of each country. The detailed analysis was conducted by Common Sense Advisory and the data collection project underwritten by Wordbank (www.wordbank.com), Lionbridge (www.lionbridge.com), and Idiom Technologies (http://www.idiominc.com).

About Common Sense Advisory, Inc.
Common Sense Advisory, Inc. is an independent research firm committed to objective research and analysis of the business practices, services, and technology for translation and localization. The firm also provides hands-on consulting and training to global business teams. For more information about the firm's global consulting programs or research membership programs, visit www.commonsenseadvisory.com or call +1 978-275-0500.

About Idiom Technologies
Idiom^® Technologies optimizes the globalization supply chain by aligning global enterprises, language service providers and translators. Award-winning WorldServer^™ software solutions expand market reach and accelerate multilingual communication with a proven platform for automating translation and localization processes.

Idiom works with global organizations including Adobe, Autodesk, Continental Airlines, eBay and Travelocity to cost-effectively translate global websites and applications, streamline software localization and delivery, and speed time-to-market for international product documentation. Idiom also partners with consulting firms, systems integrators and technology vendors to help customers achieve high-quality results and maximize existing enterprise infrastructure.

Idiom is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts, with offices throughout North America and in Europe. To learn more please visit http://www.idiominc.com or call +1 781-464-6000.

About Report Lead Analyst, Don DePalmaAfter initiating the coverage of content management in 1996 at Forrester Research, DePalma led subsequent reports on CMS, where he expanded his coverage to include organizational issues, the need for integral globalization and the evolution of corporate platforms. Author of the seminal research report on globalization, "Strategies for Global Sites," published by Forrester Research in 1998, DePalma also wrote Business Without Borders: A Strategic Guide to Global Marketing, published in 2002 by John Wiley & Sons. DePalma is the founder and president of Common Sense Advisory.

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