A more important challenge to international marketers is assuring consumers that their privacy will not be violated through the use of the Internet to make purchases that cross international borders. As most people are aware, an elevated level of risk accompanies online shopping in terms of the vulnerability of personal information to criminal hackers. Such cybercrimes present a particularly difficult challenge for law enforcement given the skill of many such criminals in concealing their point of origin and breaking into presumably secure websites, often without detection until it is too late. Assuring consumers that their online transactions will be secure from such intrusions is next-to-impossible, but the effort by marketers is made nonetheless. Additionally, assuring consumers that payment processing systems are secure and will not result in stolen credit card information is a growing challenge even within one country; across international borders, the challenge is much greater.
Another challenge for international marketers is understanding the unique cultural distinctions between countries and regions. For example, marketing designed to appeal to Swedish or Canadian consumers can involve relatively cosmopolitan imagery. That same imagery, however, might be insulting to consumers in Saudi Arabia or Malaysia, two relatively wealthy Islamic countries, with high rates of computer activity. Similarly, what is acceptable in Bahrain or Dubai may not be acceptable in Saudi Arabia, despite all three being Persian Gulf neighbors with a common religion. Failure to understand cultural sensitivities and to market accordingly can result in lost business, and even being shut out of particular foreign markets.