Accurate shipping information is crucial for your Google Merchant Center feed. If shipping details are missing or incorrect, your products may be disapproved due to errors (such as a “Missing value [shipping]” error). This guide will show you how to add shipping details correctly and avoid issues, including two methods for providing shipping costs, important rules about currency and pricing, and tips for troubleshooting and verification.
Two Ways to Provide Shipping Prices
Google Merchant Center offers two ways to specify shipping costs for your products:
- In the product data feed (using the [shipping] attribute): Include a shipping price (and other sub-attributes like country and service) for each product in your feed file. This method is helpful if you need to override default settings for specific products or have item-specific shipping costs.
- In your Merchant Center account settings (Shipping Services): Configure shipping at the account level under Product & store > Shipping and returns in Merchant Center. This allows you to set up shipping rules (flat rates, free shipping, tiered rates by price/weight, carrier rates, etc.) that apply to all or groups of products. We usually recommend this method for most merchants, since all shipping info is managed in one place, making it easier to maintain. In your Merchant Center Next interface, find Shipping and returns under the left-hand “Your business” section.)
Important: If you use both methods for the same country (account settings and feed attribute), be aware that the feed’s [shipping] attribute will override the account-level shipping setting for that product. To avoid confusion, it’s best to use one method per target country or ensure the values align.
Use a Consistent Currency
Always submit shipping costs in the same currency as your product feed’s prices. The currency for shipping must match the feed’s currency, regardless of where you configure it. For example, if your feed uses USD, then any shipping cost you provide should be in USD, even if you are targeting other countries. Using a different currency will cause errors or disapproval.
If you target multiple countries with different currencies, you have two options:
- Dedicated feeds for each country: Provide a separate feed in each country’s accepted language and currency (e.g. a UK feed in GBP, a French feed in EUR). In each feed, use shipping prices in the feed’s respective currency (e.g., GBP for the UK feed).
- Automatic currency conversion: Use a single primary feed (e.g. USD) for multiple countries. Google’s automatic conversion feature will display local currency to shoppers. In this case, still submit shipping in the primary feed’s currency (USD) for all target countries, and let Google convert it for each market. Do not manually convert and submit a different currency, or the feed will be disapproved. Also, ensure you’ve added shipping settings for each additional target country in your Merchant Center account.
Ensure Shipping Costs Are Accurate
Google requires that the shipping cost you show in Merchant Center matches or overestimates what a customer would actually pay on your website. In other words, do not understate the shipping fee. The value you submit should be equal to or higher than the shipping charge on your site; it should never be lower. If Google determines that your website charges more for shipping than what is specified in the feed or account settings, your products may be disapproved for “inaccurate shipping costs.” Always keep your shipping information up to date and accurate, reflecting the actual charges.
How to Represent Free Shipping
If you offer free shipping for a product or order, you need to indicate a $0 shipping cost explicitly:
- In the feed: Use the [shipping] attribute with a price of “0.00” (zero) in the feed file for that item (and the correct currency, e.g. US:::0.00 USD). Do not write “free” or leave it blank; it must be numeric 0.
- In account settings: Create a shipping service in Merchant Center that sets the cost to $ 0.00 for the applicable products/regions (there is an option for free shipping as well). For example, you can add a rule for free shipping above a certain order value, or free shipping for all orders, depending on your policy.
A long time ago you could set a flat rate in the shipping settings. That option is no longer available, and you must now choose free shipping.
Setting the value to 0 in the feed or selecting “free shipping” in the settings ensures that Google knows the shipping is free. Once configured, your Shopping ads or listings will display “Free delivery” if appropriate.
Include All Shipping Options You Offer
Ensure that you submit all the shipping methods and speeds you offer to customers. For instance, if you provide both standard shipping and expedited shipping, include both options in your Merchant Center shipping settings (or feed) with their respective costs and transit times. Google will then display the most relevant or lowest applicable shipping rate to users by default, and customers can see faster shipping options if available.
Including all options not only gives customers a choice, but also keeps your feed compliant, preventing a scenario where a faster shipping method on your site is omitted from Google’s information. Always align the options with what’s on your website.
Recommended Approach for Most Merchants
For the majority of merchants, the easiest way to manage shipping is through the shipping settings in their Merchant Center account (option #2 above). By configuring Shipping Services in your account, you can manage rules such as order price-based rates, weight-based rates, location-specific rates, carrier-calculated rates, and free shipping thresholds all in one place. This approach is straightforward to set up and maintain for your entire product catalog.
Use the feed’s [shipping] attribute method only if you have a specific need to override the account settings on a per-product basis (for example, a particular oversize item that has a special shipping cost). Generally, keeping shipping settings at the account level simplifies troubleshooting and ensures consistency.
Troubleshooting Shipping Errors (After Setup)
If you’ve added shipping information but are still seeing an error (such as “Missing shipping information” or a disapproval related to shipping) in Merchant Center, consider these steps:
- Refetch (Update button) or resubmit your feed: After changing shipping settings (either in the feed or account), update your feed or manually trigger an upload. The new shipping information may not take effect until the feed is processed with the updated data.
- Check the feed Processing Log for errors: Don’t rely solely on the Needs Attention tab for immediate feedback. Needs Attention can lag for around 30 min. Instead, go to Settings > Data Sources, click on your feed, and check the Latest update tab for any shipping-related errors or warnings. This log shows the latest processing results right after a feed upload. Fix any issues indicated there.
- Be patient with Needs Attention: The Needs Attention view may continue to show the old error for 30 minutes after you’ve fixed the issue, due to delayed reporting. If the processing log is clean and you’ve resubmitted, give it some time. Avoid making hasty further changes based on the Needs Attention tab alone if you’ve already addressed the problem.
By following the above, you should resolve common shipping information issues. Once the feed is reprocessed and no errors are present, your products should be approved regarding shipping information.
Verifying Your Shipping Settings in Merchant Center
Finally, you can double-check that Google recognizes your shipping charges correctly by using the shipping price preview in Merchant Center:
- Navigate to Products > All products (List) and click on a specific product in your catalog.
- In the product details page that opens, scroll down to find the Shipping section or the Shipping price calculator. Here you will see how Google is applying your shipping settings for that item (cost and estimated delivery).
- If you have multiple shipping services or rates, you can input different destinations (zip codes or countries) in the calculator to see the shipping cost for those locations. This is especially useful for verifying multi-country shipping or other shipping speeds.
Example: Checking a product’s shipping cost in Google Merchant Center’s product details page.
Review this information for a few products to ensure the correct rates (and “Free delivery” labels, if applicable) are showing up as expected. If something appears incorrect (e.g., the cost is higher or lower than intended), review your shipping settings or feed values to make the necessary adjustments.
By keeping your shipping details accurate and up-to-date using the methods above, you’ll provide a better experience to customers and stay compliant with Google’s requirements. Proper setup of shipping in Google Merchant Center helps avoid disapprovals and provides shoppers with transparency into delivery costs and options, which can ultimately improve your conversion rates on Google Shopping. Happy selling!