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Localization

Content and digital asset managementIntermediate Level

Ecommerce localization is adapting your store and product content to a country or language, from translation to currency, units, sizes, payment methods and local search terms.

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What is Localization?

Ecommerce localization is adapting your online store and product content to a specific country or language: translating titles and descriptions, and also converting currencies, units, sizes, payment methods, legal information and search terms to what local shoppers expect. Translation is one part of localization. A translated product page still fails if prices are in the wrong currency, the size chart uses US sizes for a European shopper, or the keywords are literal translations nobody searches for. CSA Research found in 2020 that 76% of consumers prefer to buy with information in their own language. Localization also has a technical side: each language version needs its own URL and hreflang tags, so search engines show the right version in each country. You can build those tags with the free hreflang generator.

Why Localization matters for e-commerce

Shoppers trust what feels local. A page in their own language, with familiar sizes, the local currency and the payment method they use every day, removes reasons to hesitate. CSA Research found that 40% of consumers never buy from websites in other languages. For a growing store, localization is what turns a translated site into a real market entry. It also affects findability: marketplaces and search engines rank content that uses the words local shoppers type. The workload grows with every market, which is why teams keep all language versions of product content in one system instead of in separate spreadsheets per country.

Free tool

Generate hreflang tags for your translated pages

Add the URL of each language version and copy valid hreflang link tags, x-default included.

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Examples of Localization

  • 1Element: Size, US: US 8, Germany: EU 38, UK: UK 10
  • 2Element: Price, Netherlands: EUR 49.95 incl. VAT, UK: GBP 44.99 incl. VAT, US: USD 54.00 excl. sales tax
  • 3Element: Search term, US: sneakers, UK: trainers, Germany: Turnschuhe
  • 4Element: Payment, Netherlands: iDEAL, Belgium: Bancontact, Germany: PayPal or invoice
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How WISEPIM Helps

  • AI translation: WISEPIM translates product content into 70+ languages, and its AI translation is 95%+ accurate, with every language version stored on the same product.
  • One record per product, all locales: titles, descriptions and attribute values per language sit together, so a change in one market is easy to carry over.
  • Channel and price per market: pricing rules per channel and platform connections send the right version to each store.

Learn more about Product Enrichment: enrich product data with AI at scale.

Common mistakes with Localization

  • Translating word for word, so product texts sound unnatural and miss the terms locals search for.
  • Forgetting units, sizes, currencies and payment methods after translating the text.
  • Keeping each market's product data in separate files, so changes never reach every language.
  • Skipping hreflang tags, so search engines show the wrong language version.

Tips for Localization

  • Pick markets first, then list everything that must change per market: language, currency, units, sizes, payment and legal text.
  • Research local search terms instead of translating your source keywords.
  • Keep all language versions of a product in one system so updates reach every market.
  • Have native speakers review your best sellers and category pages.

Trends around Localization

  • AI translation with human review: AI handles the bulk, native speakers check the most visible products.
  • Local search terms: keyword choices per market instead of literal translations.
  • Marketplace expansion: sellers localize for regional marketplaces such as Kaufland or Allegro.
  • Regulatory content: more local legal and product safety information required per country.

Tools for Localization

  • WISEPIM: PIM with AI translation into 70+ languages and product content per locale.
  • Phrase or Smartling: translation management systems with translation memory.
  • DeepL: machine translation service used by many content teams.
  • Shopify Markets: market-specific currencies, domains and languages for Shopify stores.

Related Terms

3D Model ManagementA+ Content (Enhanced Brand Content)AI-powered product content creationAlt-Text Accessibility ManagementAsset TransformationAugmented Reality (AR) Product Visualization

Also Known As

Ecommerce localisationProduct localizationInternationalizationMarket adaptation

Frequently Asked Questions

Translation converts text from one language into another. Localization adapts the whole offer to a market: language, but also currency, units, sizes, payment and shipping options, legal texts and the search terms local shoppers use.

A fashion brand showing EU sizes in Germany and UK sizes in Britain, an electronics shop listing plug types per country, and a cosmetics brand using local ingredient labels are typical examples. So is a store that uses 'sneakers' on its US site and 'trainers' on its UK site.

It should keep each language version of your product content together, translate at scale with a review step, handle locale-specific values such as units and prices, and push the right version to each channel. Many teams combine a PIM for product content with a translation tool or AI translation.

Agencies and translators bring native quality and market knowledge, which matters for brand copy and legal text. For large catalogs, many teams translate product data with AI in their PIM and have native speakers review the most visible products.

SEO localization uses the terms people in that country actually search for, which are often not literal translations, and adds hreflang tags and local URLs. Plain translation keeps the meaning but may miss the words shoppers type.

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