For businesses operating in Japan and other global markets, ensuring product information is accessible in multiple languages is crucial for enhancing customer experience and driving conversions. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central now allows automatic synchronization of product translations with Shopify, enabling businesses to maintain consistency in multilingual product listings. This feature is particularly beneficial for Japan-based e-commerce businesses catering to both domestic and international customers.
Why Synchronizing Product Translations Matters
Providing product information in a customer’s native language fosters trust, improves accessibility, and enhances the overall shopping experience. For Shopify merchants in Japan looking to expand their reach, ensuring accurate translations of product descriptions, attributes, and marketing text is essential. This not only boosts conversion rates but also strengthens brand loyalty by delivering a seamless, localized shopping experience.
Step-by-Step Guide to Enabling Translation Sync
To integrate translations into product synchronization, follow these steps:
Access Shopify Shops: Open Business Central and navigate to Shopify Shops using the Tell Me feature.
Select the Target Shop: Choose the Shopify store where you want to enable translation synchronization.
Manage Languages: Click on Languages to access the Shopify Languages page.
Import Shopify-Enabled Languages: Click Refresh to fetch available languages from Shopify. Note that the primary language is not listed here, as it continues to be managed via the Language Code field in the Shopify Shop Card.
Activate Translation Sync: For each language you want to include, input the Language Code and enable the Sync Translations toggle.
Once set up, translations will be included in every Sync Product task execution, whether triggered manually or through job queues.
Key Considerations for Successful Translation Sync
To ensure a smooth integration, keep the following factors in mind:
New Shopify API Permission: A new read_locales permission scope is required. Merchants must request an updated access token.
Initial Item Export: The first-time export via Add Item to Shopify does not include translations. To update translations, use Sync Product with the Can Update Shopify Products toggle enabled.
Marketing Text Limitation: Marketing descriptions are only applied to the primary language.
Extended Texts and Attributes: Extended texts and attributes will be translated for all selected languages. If a translation is unavailable, the primary language will be used as a fallback.
Item vs. Variant Translations: Item translations are included for each language if defined. However, variant translations are not supported since the connector exports only the variant code without a description.
Extensibility and Customization for Developers
For businesses requiring additional customization, the CreateProductBody procedure in the Product Export codeunit has been enhanced. Now, it accepts language codes as parameters and executes multiple times based on selected languages. Additionally:
OnBeforeCreateProductBodyHtml and OnAfterCreateProductBodyHtml events are triggered per item per language.
The language code is now a parameter in these events, allowing developers to modify or skip translations based on specific business needs.
Why This Matters for Japan’s E-commerce Industry
Japan’s e-commerce market is highly competitive, with multilingual support being a key factor for businesses aiming to attract both local and international customers. With this integration, Shopify merchants in Japan can:
Streamline cross-border commerce by ensuring product details remain accurate across multiple languages.
Improve operational efficiency by reducing manual translation efforts.
Enhance SEO and visibility on global marketplaces.
By leveraging Business Central’s seamless Shopify translation sync, Japanese businesses can provide a more inclusive, engaging, and conversion-optimized shopping experience.
Conclusion
As e-commerce continues to expand in Japan, adopting tools that automate and optimize multilingual content management is essential. With Business Central’s enhanced Shopify integration, businesses can effortlessly maintain accurate, consistent product translations, ensuring a competitive edge in the global market.
Ready to optimize your Shopify store for multilingual success? Contact Sysamic today for expert consultation and seamless Business Central integration.