Marketing in a customer’s native language can make product information, checkout, instructions, and support easier to understand. Survey results show a strong preference for that experience—but they do not prove that translation alone will increase sales. Local knowledge matters because it helps a business adapt the whole buying journey to the people it wants to reach.
What are the benefits of marketing in a customer’s native language?
The clearest benefit is relevance: customers can assess an offer and act on it in language they understand. Local knowledge can also help a business use familiar terminology, explain product details in a useful way, and make the steps from purchase to support fit the target market.
CSA Research’s 2020 release reported findings from 8,709 consumers in 29 countries. Fieldwork ran from November 2019 to January 2020; the release says 31,933 consumers were vetted to yield those verified responses. In that survey, 76% said they preferred products with information in their native language, and 40% said they would not buy from websites in other languages. These are reported preferences, not a forecast that a particular business will gain or lose the same share of sales. CSA Research’s 2020 findings
In a separate 2014 survey of 3,002 consumers in 10 countries, Common Sense Advisory (now CSA Research) reported that more local-language content throughout the customer experience corresponded with greater likelihood of purchase. The result supports a relationship, but does not isolate language as the sole cause. Common Sense Advisory’s 2014 summary
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Does localizing a website increase sales?
It may help remove obstacles to purchase, but the cited survey results do not establish a controlled sales lift caused by localization alone. Price, product availability, brand recognition, English proficiency, and product complexity can all influence whether a customer buys. A localized site is one part of the offer and buying experience, not a guarantee of conversion.
CSA Research’s chief research officer, Dr. Donald A. DePalma, interpreted the 2020 findings as a warning that companies choosing not to localize risk losing consumers who prefer to select and buy on local-language sites. That is his interpretation of survey responses, not an independently established forecast for every company or market. CSA Research’s 2020 release
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What is the difference between translation and localization?
Translation changes the language of content. Localization adapts the customer experience to a particular market, which can include language as well as product information, documentation, customer care, and purchase details such as local currency or transaction needs. Not every business needs to localize every touchpoint at once; the important question is where local language and context will make the decision or task clearer.
CSA Research’s description of its 2020 B2C report covers content across the customer journey, product information, documentation, customer care, and alternatives to full localization. CSA Research’s report description
Where local knowledge can improve the customer journey
Discovery
Local knowledge helps teams choose language and examples that make sense to the intended audience. The right approach depends on the market and the audience’s language proficiency; an English-language message may work for some customers and fail to connect with others.
Product evaluation
Customers need to understand what a product does, what it costs, and whether it suits their needs. Clear, locally understandable product information can reduce uncertainty, especially when the product or decision is complex. Translation without attention to market context may leave important questions unanswered.
Purchase
A customer who understands the offer can still encounter friction at checkout. Consider whether the price, currency, availability, and transaction steps make sense for the target market. A buyer may accept an English-language experience when price or availability is compelling, so language should be assessed alongside those factors.
Use and support
Instructions and post-sale help matter after the transaction. In the 2020 CSA Research survey, 75% of respondents said they were more likely to purchase from the same brand again if customer care was available in their language. This is a survey-reported likelihood, not a measured retention increase. CSA Research’s 2020 findings
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- Research the audience. Learn which languages customers use and prefer, their proficiency in other languages, and what they need to understand before buying.
- Identify the highest-friction touchpoints. Map discovery, product evaluation, checkout, instructions, and support. Prioritize the steps where confusion or missing local context could prevent a customer from proceeding.
- Choose the depth of adaptation. Decide whether to translate selected content first or adapt a fuller experience, including product details, currency or purchase flow, documentation, and customer care.
- Measure and adjust. Track relevant customer behavior and feedback in the target market, then improve the localized experience. Do not treat survey preferences as a guaranteed return on investment.
The 2020 CSA Research survey does not offer a universal formula for weighing language preference against price, availability, product complexity, or journey stage. Nor should different survey populations be treated as directly comparable: in a 2022 article, CSA Research reported that 66% of surveyed business users said they would pay up to 30% more for a localized product, while 34% of surveyed consumers said they would pay more for products adapted to language and market. Those figures describe separate groups, not a controlled comparison. CSA Research’s marketer research page
CSA Research also displays later aggregate counts of 9,909 consumers and 1,116 business buyers in 33 countries. Its page excerpt does not establish how those totals relate to the 2020 B2C survey, so they should not be combined with the 2020 sample figures. CSA Research’s marketer research page
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