New epo t fi ds co sume s a e co fide t they ca spot machi e-t a slated co te t, while bette localized digital expe ie ces ca i flue ce t ust, loyalty a d which b a ds they choose
LOS ANGELES, Oct. 13, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — AI a d automated t a slatio have made it easie tha eve fo b a ds to delive websites, p oduct i fo matio a d digital expe ie ces i multiple la guages. But as t a slatio becomes easie to scale, b a ds face mo e p essu e to mai tai quality a d local eleva ce ac oss eve y ma ket. Life ay, a leadi g p ovide of Digital Expe ie ce Platfo ms (DXPs), eleased ew esea ch exami i g whe e multili gual digital expe ie ces a e falli g sho t a d what co sume s otice whe localizatio misses the ma k.
The Life ay 2026 Website Localizatio Repo t, co ducted i Septembe 2026 via the thi d-pa ty platfo m Pollfish, su veyed 800 U.S. adults who had used a website, app o digital se vice i a la guage othe tha E glish i the past 12 mo ths. The epo t exami es how multili gual co sume s expe ie ce t a slated a d localized digital co te t, which mistakes they otice a d how those mistakes affect t ust, pu chase decisio s a d b a d loyalty.
Key fi di gs i clude:
Poo localizatio is costi g sales. 56% of multili gual co sume s have decided ot to buy f om a compa y because its website o app felt poo ly adapted to thei la guage.Good t a slatio s ca still hide a bad expe ie ce. 54% of co sume s who ate b a ds’ o -E glish t a slatio s as good o excelle t have still walked away f om a pu chase ove poo localizatio .Most t a slated websites still do ’t feel t uly local. O ly 23% say o -E glish websites usually feel like they we e w itte fo them.Co sume s thi k they ca spot machi e t a slatio . 82% a e co fide t they ca tell whe co te t was machi e-t a slated athe tha w itte o eviewed by a flue t speake .Localizatio p oblems a e ea ly u ive sal. 90% have oticed at least o e localizatio p oblem o a website o app.Bette localizatio ca wi busi ess. 48% have chose o e compa y ove a competito because its website o app felt bette adapted to thei la guage a d cultu e.Co sume s associate bette localizatio with huma eview. O ly 20% c edit AI alo e fo st o g localizatio , while 43% c edit huma i volveme t.
“You ca t a slate eve y page a d tech ically have eve ythi g wo ki g, but that does ’t mea the expe ie ce feels atu al to the pe so usi g it,” said B ya Cheu g, co-fou de a d CMO at Life ay. “That’s whe e a lot of compa ies ca u de estimate the diffe e ce betwee t a slatio a d localizatio . T a slatio gets the co te t i to a othe la guage. Localizatio is what makes it feel atu al to the people usi g it.”
The fi di gs show that co sume s otice whe a t a slated expe ie ce does ’t feel atu al. As b a ds expa d multili gual co te t, getti g the wo di g, to e a d cultu al co text ight ca make the diffe e ce betwee a site that simply does the job a d o e that feels made fo the people usi g it.
Visit the Life ay 2026 Website Localizatio Repo t o Life ay’s website fo the complete su vey esults a d additio al i sights.
Life ay helps o ga izatio s build fo the futu e by e abli g them to c eate, ma age, a d scale powe ful solutio s o the wo ld’s most-flexible Digital Expe ie ce Platfo m (DXP). T usted globally by ove a thousa d compa ies spa i g multiple i dust ies, Life ay’s ope -sou ce DXP facilitates the developme t of ma keti g a d comme ce websites, custome po tals, i t a ets, a d mo e. Lea how we ca use tech ology to cha ge the wo ld togethe at life ay.com.
