Configure multi-locale for Ratings & Reviews

Shopify enables clients to configure multiple display languages within their stores. Implement multi-locale configuration if:

  • Your store has more than one localized experience available for a customer
  • Ratings & Reviews is configured for different experiences depending on the locale

Initial configuration 

When you first set up the Bazaarvoice Reviews & Photos app, a global default locale will be selected from the locales in your Ratings & Reviews configuration. If your preferred global default locale is not in the list, make sure it's selected in your Ratings & Reviews configuration.

Enable advanced localization 

  1. After you complete the initial configuration, select Ratings & Reviews > Configure.
  2. Go to Localization > Advanced Localization and select Enable. This automatically fetches all locales your Shopify store supports and the locales configured for your Bazaarvoice account. 
  3. Map your Shopify store locales to the relevant Bazaarvoice Ratings & Reviews locales. Include the following information:
  • Shopify Locale: the language codes or language plus country code configured in your Shopify store. For example, en, fr, es.
  • Bazaarvoice Locale: Ratings & Reviews locale codes that should be used when customers browse in the corresponding Shopify locale. For example, en_US, en_CA, fr_CA.
  • You can map multiple BV locales to a single Shopify locale. For example, you can include both en_US and en_CA as BV locales for the English language. 
  • Default Locale: the locale designated as the fallback for each Shopify locale mapping. The system will use this locale when a customer browses in an unmapped locale, when their locale includes a country code that you haven't mapped, or when there is a new feature. For each language, designate one default locale. We recommend you select your most commonly used or primary market locale.

  1. Select Add Bazaarvoice Locale.

    The following table shows mapping examples:

    Shopify Locale
    		BV Locale Default locale
    en
    		en_US, en_CA en_US
    fr
    		fr_CA, fr_FR fr_CA
    es
    		es_ES, es_MX es_ES
    1. After you review and configure the mappings, select Save.
    • New product and order feed exports 
    • Hosted display (the next time BV.js loads) 

    Disable advanced localization 

    To disable advanced localization and return to using a single locale:

    1. Select Ratings & Reviews > Configure.
    2. Under Localization > Advanced Localization, select Disable.
    3. Disable the app embed block within your Shopify theme.
    4. Publish the changes to your Shopify theme.

    After you disable advanced localization, the following changes take effect:

    • The system reverts to the default locale specified in your main Ratings & Reviews configuration
    • All customers see content in the default locale regardless of their browsing language
    • Product feeds only include default locale data
    • Transaction tracking uses the single default locale for all events

    Enable the app embed block (Hosted Display) 

    If you're using hosted display (BV.js), you need to enable the app embed block for your theme. This ensures that the correct locale-specific JavaScript is loaded according to the browsing locale and the locale mappings you've configured.

    1. After you enable advanced localization, go to your Shopify Theme settings.
    2. Select Online Store > Themes.
    3. Find the theme that you want to edit and select Customize.
    4. Select App embeds from the menu on the left side of the page.
    5. Find the Bazaarvoice Snippet and turn on the toggle.
    6. Select Save.
    7. Publish the changes to your theme.

    Impact of multi-locale configuration 

    Multi-locale configuration impacts the following features in the Reviews & Photos app:

    • Product Feed Translations: Product feeds will include title and description translations for all configured locales. These translations follow the locale mapping defined in your configuration.
    • Hosted Display (BV.js): The app embed block dynamically loads the appropriate BV.js file based on the customer's current browsing locale in Shopify, your configured locale mappings, and the default locale. For example,  a customer browsing in French (fr) will load the following URL: https://apps.bazaarvoice.com/deployments/{client}/main_site/{environment}/fr_CA/bv.js.
      If advanced localization hasn't been enabled, all customers load the default locale configured in the main Ratings & Reviews settings.
    • Transaction Tracking: Checkout events and transactions are tracked using the customer's browsing locale. This ensures that both analytics and PIE data are segmented by locale.
      Transactions are tracked for mapped locales using the appropriate BV locale. Transactions are tracked for unmapped locales using the global default locale. The default locale acts as a fallback to ensure no transactions are lost due to unmapped locales.
    • App Blocks: If you use Shopify App Blocks for display, they automatically adapt to the customer's locale. Reviews, ratings, and Q&A content will display in the appropriate language.

    Troubleshooting 

    If BV.js doesn't load the correct locale:

    • Verify the app embed block is enabled in your theme
    • Check that you've mapped all locales correctly
    • Clear your browser cache and test in an incognito window

    If product translations don't appear in feeds:

    • Verify that your Shopify store has translations configured for the relevant locales 
    • Make sure you've mapped the locale mappings for all desired locales
    • Check the feed export has completed after saving your locale configuration

    If a locale doesn't appear in the drop-down menu:

    • For Shopify locales: Confirm the locale is published within your Shopify store 
    • For Bazaarvoice locales: Verfiy the locale is provisioned in your Ratings & Reviews configuration

    If content appears in an incorrect language:

    • Make sure you've set the default locale correctly for each language group
    • Check the customer's browsing locale matches an entry in your Shopify store
    • Confirm the desired Bazaarvoicr Locale is mapped to the customer's language. Unmapped locales revert to the global default locale

    Common questions 

    What happens when I change the default locale?

    When you change the default locale, any new requests will use the new default locale. It may take time to update existing, cached content.

    Can I have a different default locale for each language?

    Yes. You can set a default locale for each language group. For example, en_US for English or fr_CA for French.


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