If you’ve been following my content here on FeedArmy, a lot of what I’m about to cover will sound very familiar, because I’ve already talked about most of it. That’s not me being smug; that’s the whole point. The merchants who watch this space closely are already prepared, while everyone else is just now scrambling to catch up.
Google has officially released its updated attribute list for 2026, outlining what’s new, what’s changing, and when it takes effect. Let me break it all down for you.
What’s Changing in April 2026
As of 14th April 2026, Google is rolling out new shipping options at the product level, mirroring features previously available only at the account level in Google Merchant Center.
Handling Cutoff Time (Product Level)
This attribute lets you set a daily deadline for processing online orders on a per-product basis.
I first covered this back on 19th November, months before Google’s official announcement. My clients were already set up with this attribute while the rest of the industry was waiting for the green light.
Previously, you could only set a handling cutoff time globally across your entire account in Merchant Center settings. That’s fine if every product in your store operates the same way, but for most merchants, that’s not reality. If you carry multiple brands and one supplier processes orders much faster than another, you need the ability to reflect that at the product level. That’s exactly what this attribute gives you.
One important note: when I first announced this attribute, it wasn’t yet available in attribute rules or feed rules. That has since changed, you can now use it within attribute rules, which makes managing it at scale a lot easier.
Minimum Order Value (Product Level)
Alongside the handling cutoff time, Google is also introducing a minimum order value attribute at the product level.
Again, this was already available as an account-wide setting in Merchant Center, but you had no way to differentiate by brand or category. If you have a supplier who requires a minimum spend before they’ll ship, you can now specify that directly in your product feed without it affecting every other product in your catalog.
Both of these attributes can be added directly in your primary feed or as a supplemental feed, whatever feed management system you’re using, whether that’s a data feed app, a custom extension, or something else.
Loyalty Program Label and Loyalty Tier Label
Google is also adding two new sub-attributes to the shipping attribute: loyalty program label and loyalty tier label.
This allows you to specify loyalty shipping benefits at the individual product level, rather than applying your loyalty program settings broadly across everything. For merchants running loyalty programs, this is a significant upgrade, you can now target specific products with specific loyalty benefits, rather than taking an all-or-nothing approach.
Video Link Attribute, Now Officially Available
This one I first wrote about on 15th December 2024. At the time, Google was testing it quietly. Now it’s being opened up to the wider merchant community.
The new video link attribute lets you submit links to product videos directly in your feed. A few important things to know:
- Videos must be YouTube links (you can also use Google VDO or Google Cloud if needed)
- Videos will be used to enhance how your products are displayed across Google, think showcasing items in use, from multiple angles, in real-world context
- Technical validation errors will be reported starting 14th April 2026
- Serving, policy, and quality validation won’t begin until 30th June 2026
The reason for that gap is straightforward: Google wants to collect enough data from merchants submitting videos to build out proper policy guidelines, quality checks, and AI validation systems before they start enforcing anything. It gives everyone time to get their video links in order.
If you haven’t started thinking about product videos yet, now is the time. The merchants who have their videos submitted and validated by June will have a head start the moment Google flips the switch on serving.
Image Resolution Requirements, Effective January 2027
Looking further ahead, Google is updating the minimum resolution requirements for both the image link and additional image link attributes. This takes effect on 31st January 2027.
The previous minimum was around 200–250 pixels, which is honestly very low. But here’s the thing, you shouldn’t be aiming for the minimum anyway.
Here’s my recommendation for getting the most out of your product images:
Submit at least 8 images. That means one main image link and seven additional image links. The more quality images you submit, the higher your image quality score with Google — and that score does affect your ranking.
Aim for a minimum of 1,500 x 1,500 pixels. Don’t cut corners here. Larger, high-quality images genuinely perform better.
Use a solid white background for your submitted images. It’s clean, it’s consistent, and it performs well in Google Shopping. Then, if you want to add lifestyle backgrounds or contextual settings, use Google’s own Product Studio to do it.
I’d strongly advise against using third-party AI tools or Photoshop to add custom backgrounds to images before submitting them to Merchant Center. These can get your listings disapproved. However, backgrounds generated through Product Studio itself are created by Google, so while they still technically need to comply with policies, they face far less scrutiny in practice.
Why Staying Ahead Matters
I want to be direct with you: the reason I keep emphasizing that I covered these updates months before Google’s official announcement isn’t about credit, it’s about outcomes.
Every one of my clients who was already running video links and product-level handling cutoff times before this announcement had weeks and months of a head start. They weren’t reacting; they were already optimized.
That window matters more than most people realize. When a new attribute rolls out, and Google starts factoring it into quality scores or rankings, the merchants who have it in place from day one are the ones who benefit immediately. Everyone else is playing catch-up.
The updates in this announcement, handling cutoff time, minimum order value, video links, loyalty labels- are all live or coming very soon. The image resolution changes are on the horizon. Now is the time to act on them, not when your competitors already have.
Summary of Key Dates
| Update | Effective Date |
|---|---|
| Handling Cutoff Time (product level) | 14th April 2026 |
| Minimum Order Value (product level) | 14th April 2026 |
| Loyalty Program & Tier Label sub-attributes | 14th April 2026 |
| Video Link — technical validation begins | 14th April 2026 |
| Video Link — serving & quality checks begin | 30th June 2026 |
| Image resolution requirements update | 31st January 2027 |
If you have any questions about implementing these attributes in your product feed, drop them in the comments below, I’m happy to help. And if you’d like assistance getting your feed set up properly, feel free to reach out directly.
Stay ahead of your competitors. That’s what Feed Army is here for.
References:
https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/16989427
https://feedarmy.com/kb/new-handling-cutoff-time-attribute-now-supported-in-google-merchant-center-feeds/
https://feedarmy.com/kb/how-to-add-video-link-in-google-merchant-center-next/
https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/16989009
https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/16543665
https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/6324484