If web retailing were a race between countries, here's how we would snapshot the competition. The US and Australia are far out in the lead, with France making a very splashy third place, and Holland, Germany and Canada coming up close behind, with the U.K. hanging in there, and Japan stumbling into the race, late. France, for instance, gave away their Minitel to phone customers, who now feel comfortable ordering just about anything electronically. Germans feel at ease ordering by mail from catalogs. Canadians give the impression that they are going online not because they want to, but because they have to.
Brits show a similar crankiness.
The Dutch, having sold to foreigners for centuries, understand the idea of multiple languages and currency conversions. Oddly, the most interesting online stores in Japan deal in traditional crafts. If you know a little of the host country's language, try browsing the site that way, to soak up the ambience. If you must buy something from the store, use the telephone. That way, you know you are talking to a clerk at the store, directly, reducing the possibility of someone stealing your credit card info.