Retail Observer

RETAILOBSERVER.COM FEBRUARY 2014 64 "This milestone house celebrates the dedication and commitment of many hands and hearts that share our vision of a world where everyone has a decent place to live," said Jonathan Reckford, CEO of Habitat for Humanity International. "Anchored by the conviction that housing provides a critical foundation for breaking the cycle of poverty, Habitat is committed to helping more families, partnering and advocating with other groups to create new housing opportunities and inspiring people to take action to end poverty housing. Thank you to our many donors, partners, volunteers and advocates, whose contributions to our ministry have made it possible for millions of people worldwide to have a decent place to call home." With an average of five people per Habitat home, this milestone house represents an estimated 4 million people who have improved their living conditions through Habitat's housing solutions in the more than 70 countries around the world where Habitat works. "It's such an honor to be a part of this milestone celebration with Habitat for Humanity International," said Larrie Del Martin, president and CEO of Atlanta Habitat for Humanity. "We couldn't be more proud to be among the 2,300 affiliates globally, working together with families, volunteers and donors to build affordable, quality homes. Atlanta Habitat looks forward to seeing the impact in 2015, not just locally, but in our communities around the world." In its 2013 fiscal year, Habitat for Humanity built, renovated or repaired 124,946 homes, marking the first time that Habitat served more than 100,000 families in a single year, significantly surpassing the previous record in 2012 of 94,618 families served. This equates to a family being served on average every 4 minutes. In addition to housing construction efforts in 2013, Habitat for Humanity provided 214,244 individuals with technical assistance, such as financial literacy education and construction training. "This 800,000th home milestone is an unprecedented accomplishment and we are excited to be on track to serve a million families through new home construction, home renovation or critical home repair by the end of 2015," said Reckford. "This milestone also complements our new strategic plan that focuses on improving housing conditions for the escalating number of low- income families worldwide; supporting and influencing partner organizations to increase access to shelter and advocate for affordable housing policies; and mobilizing the hands, hearts and voices of volunteers in the cause of adequate and affordable housing." To get more information, to donate or to volunteer, please visit habitat.org. ONE HOUR TRANSLATION FINDS ONLY 20% OF TOP 100 U.S. RETAILERS TRANSLATE ONLINE CONTENT Leading Translation Company Reviews Top 100 Retailers' Websites to Find Many Neglect to Translate A review of the top 100 U.S.-based retailers' domestic websites (according to the National Retail Federation) found that only 20 companies provide online information that is translated to languages other than English. With more than 20% of the U.S. population speaking languages other than English at home, the majority of top retailers are failing to reach large populations of consumers, thus failing to capitalize on potential revenue. The review was conducted by One Hour Translation, the web's leading Professional Translation Service. "This was an astounding revelation to us," said Ofer Shoshan, CEO of One Hour Translation. "The U.S. is affectionately known as the melting pot, making it especially surprising that top retailers – many of which are household name brands – are not making their websites multilingual. Companies are bypassing potential revenue and possible brand ambassadors, which can be easily remedied through translation, which would make sites understandable and easy to navigate to the masses, not only English-speaking customers." According to One Hour Translation, of the top ten retailers in the U.S., only Costco and CVS Caremark provided online information in languages other than English. The company's review also showed that Apple Stores/iTunes was the most prolific translation retailer, providing translations to 125 different languages. Other prolific retailers who translated web information into a large number of languages are Dell (180), Starbucks (46), and IKEA/North America (43). Data shows more than 25 million people in the U.S. are considered limited English proficient (LEP) and over seventy percent of consumers are more likely to buy a product when presented in their own language, ranking it a higher priority than price. These statistics demonstrate that retailers should strongly consider translating their websites, making them easily accessible to a larger consumer base, thus increasing site traffic, revenue and overall exposure. Shoshan continues, "It's important that retailers adopt a macro view when it comes to marketing, as to not limit their engagement with only English-speaking customers. Translation is a smart and efficient way to expand any company's presence, and retailers can work closely with a vendor who specializes in localized translation to ensure the translations accurately reflect the correct cultural context." For more information visit www.onehourtranslation.com. I N D U S T R Y [ N E W S ] PHOTO COURTESY OF ATLANTA HABITAT FOR HUMANITY

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