Language of automated e-mails to customers

Topic summary

Automated fulfillment emails from a Shopify store continue to be sent in Dutch (the shop’s default) despite programmatic language changes via API and GraphQL based on customer location. API (application programming interface) and GraphQL (a query language for APIs) are used to update language preferences after orders import from marketplaces.

Observed behavior: emails visible in seller central are sent in Dutch and are triggered much later than the language change event. Customer profiles show future emails should be in German or French, and all email templates have been translated.

Key question: what causes emails to still be sent in Dutch? Is there a missing localization attribute at the order level affecting email language?

Status: no resolution or action items yet; the thread is seeking technical guidance and remains open.

Summarized with AI on January 19. AI used: gpt-5.

Hello,

We use Shopify to import orders from various marketplaces. Once the orders are imported into Shopify, we utilize the API and GraphQL to change the language of these orders based on the customer’s location.

However, email updates concerning fulfillment are still being sent in Dutch, which is the default language of our shop. We have observed this in seller central, where we can view messages sent to our customers. Notably, these emails are sent out much later than when we change the customer’s language preference.

We are puzzled as to why the emails continue to be sent in Dutch. According to the customer profiles, future emails should be sent in either German or French, and we have already translated all email templates accordingly.

What could be causing the emails to still be sent in Dutch? Is there a localization tag at the order level that we might be overlooking?

Best