Quick answer: Yes. The free Google Translate app (Android and iPhone) has a Live translate mode that listens to both of you and speaks each side aloud in the other language, in more than 70 languages. Setup on a store phone takes five minutes.

What it does

A couple walks in for a fridge and a mattress, but their English is limited. Too often they leave because nobody can explain delivery, warranty or financing. In Conversation mode, your salesperson talks normally, the phone speaks it in Punjabi, Tagalog, Ukrainian or Spanish, and the customer answers back. Face to face mode splits the screen so each person reads their own language.

In the 2021 Census, one in eight Canadians spoke mainly a language other than English or French at home (Statistics Canada).

Real example: a store manager posted on Reddit's r/TalesFromRetail that he used Google Translate with a Spanish-only shopper, and she ordered more than $2,000 in furniture.

Price

Free. Google says its newest Live translate model has been rolling out globally since June 2026. If you don't see it yet, the app's older Conversation feature (70 languages) works the same way.

Try it in 15 minutes

  1. Install or update Google Translate on the floor phone or tablet.

  2. Tap Live translate, pick English plus the language you hear most in your area, then choose Conversation.

  3. Role-play with a co-worker: delivery fee, warranty, "Will it fit up my stairs?"

  4. Print the counter card below.

  5. Measure: for four weeks, count shoppers you served in another language and how many bought.

Copy-paste prompt (ChatGPT, Gemini or Copilot)

❝

I run [STORE NAME], an independent [STORE TYPE] store in [TOWN]. Make a one-page bilingual counter card in English and [LANGUAGE] with our 12 most common answers: delivery fee [$], delivery days [DAYS], haul-away [YES/NO + $], warranty [TERMS], financing [OFFER], return policy [POLICY], hours [HOURS]. Short, polite lines, English left, [LANGUAGE] right. Flag any line a native speaker should double-check.

FAQ

Is it accurate enough for contracts? No. Use it to talk, give written terms, and have a fluent person check anything legal or financial.

Is it private? Treat it like any app: don't speak card numbers or ID details into it.

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