Google has recently rolled out significant updates to its price attribute policy in Merchant Center, changes designed to improve pricing transparency and consistency across regions, particularly as various countries adapt to new import-duty regulations. Here’s what you need to know to stay compliant and competitive.
1. What’s Changed in the Price Attribute Policy?
- Merchants must now disclose merchant-imposed fees, such as service, processing, activation, or handling charges, in the shipping attribute or settings, provided they are allowed by law in that region.
- Government-imposed charges (e.g., mandatory taxes or duties) must not be included in either the price or shipping attributes.
- For import/export-related costs, you have two options: Include them in your product price, or
- Clearly disclose them on your site (e.g., in the shipping policy).
2. Regional Availability & Pricing: Now Global
- The Regional Availability & Pricing (RAAP) feature, previously limited to select countries, is now available to a much wider list, covering dozens of nations including Thailand, Vietnam, India, Brazil, UAE, and more.
- With RAAP, merchants can: Specify which regions a product is available in,
- Apply different prices depending on customer location, helpful for variable sourcing/shipping costs or multi-warehouse operations.
- This is ideal for businesses facing regional cost disparities, like fresh produce logistics, pharmaceuticals, or any goods with region-dependent pricing requirements.
3. Additional Data Requirements & Attribute Changes
- As of April 8, 2025, Google introduced a few new attribute guidelines:
- Installment pricing: You must no longer repurpose the
[price]attribute for down-payments. Instead, use the dedicated[downpayment]sub-attribute within[installment], and let[price]represent the full upfront cost. - Certain energy-efficiency attributes in the EU have evolved—now unified under the broader
[certification]attribute, though legacy fields remain for some regions.
- Installment pricing: You must no longer repurpose the
4. Common Price-Related Issues & How to Avoid Them
Google continues to flag or disapprove products when inconsistencies arise. Here are the most frequent problems:
- Price mismatches between your data feed and your landing page (including structured data or OpenGraph tags).
- Unspecified currency, wrong formatting, or missing [price] values, all of which can trigger disapproval or suspension.
- Failing to account for regional pricing mismatches, e.g., feed lists one price, but the site shows another for the same region.
- Dynamic page pricing based on IP detection violates policy; use RAAP instead.
- Not updating installment attributes correctly under the new rules.
5. Best Practices for Seamless Compliance
a) Use Regional Availability & Pricing (RAAP)
- If your product pricing varies by region, enroll in RAAP and configure location-specific pricing and availability.
- This ensures correct display and prevents IP-based mismatches.
b) Include Merchant Fees, Exclude Government Fees
- Always add any merchant-imposed fees to the shipping cost in your feed or in Merchant Center’s shipping settings.
- Do not include government fees in either price or shipping.
c) Clarify Import/Export Costs
- Clearly state whether import/export duties are included in your price or are payable by the buyer—typically on your shipping policy page linked in the footer.
d) Use the Correct Installment and Downpayment Attributes
- For installment plans, use
[downpayment]within[installment], and let[price]be the full upfront cost.
e) Monitor and Fix Price Mismatch Issues
- Regularly check Products → Needs Attention (Diagnostics) in Merchant Center to catch mismatches quickly.
- Ensure feed price, visible price, and schema/structured data all align.
f) Enable Automatic Item Updates
- Automatic updates help correct temporary mismatches in price, availability, or condition that result from feed delays, though they’re not a replacement for accurate feeds.
6. Summary Table
| Policy Area | Key Requirements |
|---|---|
| Merchant Fees | Include in shipping attribute/settings |
| Government-Imposed Charges | Do not include in price/shipping |
| Import/Export Costs | Either include in price or clearly disclose sitewide |
| Regional Pricing | Use RAAP for location-based variation |
| Installment Pricing | Use [downpayment] under [installment]; [price] is full price |
| Price Mismatch | Match feed, landing page, and schema exactly |
| Automatic Updates | Enable to catch transient mismatches |
Final Thoughts
These updates underscore Google’s growing emphasis on pricing clarity and consistent shopper experiences. As more regions adopt variable duty structures, the tools Merchant Center offers, like RAAP and automated updates, are essential for global and multi-regional merchants.
If you’d like help implementing these updates or need a compliance checklist, feel free to reach out, happy to support your transition smoothly!