Key takeaways
- In CSA Research's survey of 8,709 consumers, 76% preferred to buy products with information in their own language and 73% wanted product reviews in their language.
- Eurostat reports that 78% of EU internet users bought or ordered goods or services online in 2025.
- A translated product page should adapt units, sizes, keywords and examples, not only the sentences.
- Under the EU General Product Safety Regulation, online offers must show warnings and safety information in a language consumers can easily understand.
- Machine translation published without review risks low-value pages: Google's spam policies name automated translating that adds little value as a form of scaled content abuse.
This guide is for online retailers and brands selling through their own shop on platforms such as Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento or a custom build. It covers what a good translated product page contains, how to split a large catalogue between human and machine workflows, and which legal details must be exact. Marketplace listings follow different rules and are covered in our guide to translating Amazon listings for European marketplaces.
Product copy is a mix of two kinds of text. The emotional part (headline, benefits, story) sells the product, while the factual part (specifications, materials, care, safety) protects the buyer and the seller. Each needs a different treatment.
Why does product description translation affect sales?
Product description translation affects sales because most shoppers prefer, and many insist on, buying in their own language. In a survey of 8,709 consumers in 29 countries, CSA Research found that 76% of online shoppers prefer to buy products with information in their native language. The same study found that 40% will never buy from websites in other languages and 73% want product reviews in their language.
The audience is large. Eurostat reports that in 2025, 78% of EU internet users aged 16 to 74 bought or ordered goods or services online. In the same survey, 12% of online shoppers reported a website that was difficult to use or worked unsatisfactorily, and a half-translated shop is an easy way to join that group.
What should a translated product page include?
A translated product page should give a local shopper everything the source page gives an English-speaking one, in a form that feels native. That means adapting several elements, not just the description paragraph.
| Element | What to adapt | Typical risk if left literal |
|---|---|---|
| Product title | Local search terms, word order, product type naming | The product is invisible in local search |
| Benefit bullets and story | Tone, register, cultural references, humour | Copy sounds translated and untrustworthy |
| Specifications | Units (cm, kg, litres), decimal commas, plug types, voltages | Returns because the product does not fit or work |
| Size guides | EU, UK and US size systems, local measuring habits | Wrong sizes ordered, high return rates |
| Materials and care | Regulated fibre names, care symbols, washing temperatures | Non-compliant labelling claims |
| Safety warnings | Exact, consistent wording in the local language | Regulatory breach and consumer harm |
| Image text and alt text | Text on banners, infographics and alt attributes | English fragments on an otherwise local page |
Search terms deserve particular care. Shoppers rarely search with the word a dictionary gives for your product. Research local keywords before translation starts, so the linguist can work them in naturally. Our guide to multilingual SEO explains how to do that research.
Is machine translation good enough for product descriptions?
Machine translation can be good enough for low-traffic, highly factual product data, but only with human review and terminology control. It is a poor fit for hero products, brand stories and anything with safety or regulatory content.
Publishing raw machine output at scale also carries a search risk. Google's spam policies list, as an example of scaled content abuse, scraping content to generate many pages "including through automated transformations like synonymizing, translating, or other obfuscation techniques" where little value is provided to users. Translated pages that are reviewed, localised and genuinely useful are not the target, but thin automatic copies can be.
A practical way to decide is to tier the catalogue:
- Tier 1: best-sellers and launch products. Human translation with copywriting, or full transcreation for the hero copy.
- Tier 2: steady sellers. Human translation, reusing approved terms and sentences from a translation memory.
- Tier 3: long-tail items. Machine translation followed by full human post-editing, known as MTPE.
- All tiers: safety and legal data. Human-checked, using locked, pre-approved wording.
Which legal information must be exact in a translated product page?
Safety warnings, fibre composition and other mandatory product information must be accurate and in the right language for each market. These are not areas for creative licence.
Safety information in the EU
For goods offered online to EU consumers, Article 19 of the General Product Safety Regulation (EU) 2023/988 requires the offer to show any warning or safety information that must appear on the product or packaging. It must be given "in a language which can be easily understood by consumers, as determined by the Member State in which the product is made available on the market".
Textile and clothing descriptions
For clothing and textiles sold in the EU, Article 16 of Regulation (EU) No 1007/2011 requires fibre composition to be "clearly visible to the consumer before the purchase, including in cases where the purchase is made by electronic means". The labelling "shall be provided in the official language or languages of the Member State" unless that state decides otherwise. Only the regulated fibre names may be used, so "bamboo silk" or similar marketing names can be a problem.
Rules for sales into Great Britain and Northern Ireland can differ from EU rules, so confirm the position for each market with your compliance adviser. Checkout, returns and terms pages carry their own requirements, covered in our guide to translating checkout, terms and returns pages.
How do you prepare a product catalogue for translation?
A catalogue is easiest to translate when it is exported in a structured format and accompanied by a short brief. Good preparation reduces cost, speeds up delivery and prevents broken pages on import.
- Export, do not copy and paste. Send a CSV, XLSX or XML export from your shop or PIM (product information management) system, with product IDs, so translations can be re-imported automatically.
- Mark what not to translate. SKUs, model numbers, HTML tags, variables and brand names should be locked.
- Supply a glossary and tone guide. A list of approved product terms keeps 2,000 descriptions consistent. See why glossaries and style guides matter.
- Give character limits. Titles and filters often have hard limits in the shop theme.
- Include images and live URLs. Linguists translate better when they can see the product.
- Plan for updates. Decide who sends new and changed products, and how often.
What are the common mistakes in product description translation?
The most common mistakes are practical rather than linguistic, and most can be avoided with a better brief. These are the issues we see most often:
- Translating descriptions but leaving filters, variant names ("Colour: Navy") and size charts in English.
- Converting units in the text but not in the specification table, so the two disagree.
- Using different words for the same feature across products, which confuses shoppers and weakens search.
- Translating reviews automatically without labelling them as translated.
- Letting the brand voice change from formal to informal between categories.
- Updating the English page and forgetting the translated versions.
Some product copy, such as launch headlines and campaign banners, needs creative adaptation rather than translation. Our guide to transcreation vs translation explains where that line falls.
How TranslationWorks can help with product descriptions
TranslationWorks is a UK-based agency that translates product descriptions, specifications, size guides and marketplace copy for online retailers, using native-speaking linguists in more than 150 languages. Our e-commerce translation services cover full catalogues, while our transcreation services handle hero copy and campaign banners that need creative adaptation. We work with exported files from your shop or PIM, apply your glossary and brand voice, and keep safety and technical wording consistent. TranslationWorks is ISO 17100 certified, ISO 9001 and ISO 27001 registered and Cyber Essentials certified. Send a sample export and your target markets through our free quote form to get a quote within 24 hours.
