Set up shipping settings in Merchant Center with the shipping [shipping] attribute. The shipping [shipping] attribute lets you provide shipping speed and cost for a product. Use this attribute when the shipping settings aren’t defined at the account level in Merchant Center, or if you need to override your account level shipping settings for individual products (for example, bulky or fragile products).
On this page
- When to use
- Sub-attributes
- Format
- Minimum requirements
- Additional guidelines
- Best practices
- Examples
When to use
It depends: You may or may not need to submit this attribute depending on the product or the countries in which your products show.
Shipping covers the cost charged by a shipping carrier or other costs directly related to shipping. A charge is considered a shipping cost if it includes the words "handling," "delivery," "shipping," "logistics," or "carrier." Shipping can include cross-border charges if the cost is included under a shipping term on your online store. It should also include insurance costs related to any of the 5 terms above.
Shipping also covers speed, which is the time from when a customer places an order to when they receive it. Shipping speed includes both handling time [handling_time] (sometimes referred to as processing time) and transit time [transit_time]:
- Handling time: The time from when an order is placed to when it’s handed off to the shipping carrier.
- Transit time: The time from when an order has been handed off to a shipping carrier to when the customer receives it.
Shipping speed and cost are the most common reasons customers abandon their shopping choices. Showing accurate information can help improve the performance of your ads and products showing organically.
Where shipping costs are required
Shipping costs are required for Shopping ads and free listings in the following countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, The United Kingdom, and The United States.
Learn more about Setting up shipping services in Merchant Center.
Sub-attributes
The shipping [shipping] attribute uses sub-attributes to define country, delivery area, service, price, handling time, and transit time.
- Country
[country](Required): The country the product can be delivered to. Submit an ISO 3166-1 country code (for example: CH). - Delivery area (Optional): To specify where your product can be delivered, submit one (and only one) of the following:
- Region
[region]: Submit a region, state, territory, or prefecture. Use a subdivision code from the ISO 3166-2 code tables without the country prefix (for example, NY, NSW, RJ). - Postal code
[postal_code]: Submit a ZIP or postal code, a range of postal codes, or a range of postal codes using a prefix with a wildcard ( * ). - Location ID
[location_id]: Submit a numeric criteria ID of your location defined by the Google Ads API (for example, for California use 21137). - Location group name
[location_group_name]: Submit a location group that you set up in your "Region" settings in Merchant Center.
- Region
- Service
[service](Conditionally optional): Required if you have multiple shipping options for a single location (for example, “Standard” and “Express” shipping). - Price
[price](Required for speed overrides, otherwise optional): Submit a fixed shipping cost. Use a period [.] as the decimal separator (for example: 3.00 USD). Avoid commas [,]. If you submit the price, your account shipping service settings will be ignored for that product. - Handling time (Optional): Specify how long a product may spend in handling using the minimum handling time
[min_handling_time]and maximum handling time[max_handling_time]sub-attributes. Use business days.- To specify minimum and maximum handling times that apply across multiple or all shipping
[shipping]or carrier shipping[carrier_shipping]attributes for a product, you should use the minimum handling time[min_handling_time]and maximum handling time[max_handling_time]
- To specify minimum and maximum handling times that apply across multiple or all shipping
- Transit time (Optional): Specify how long a product may spend in transit using the minimum transit time
[min_transit_time]and maximum transit time[max_transit_time]sub-attributes. - Handling cutoff time
[handling_cutoff_time](Optional): Specify the exact time customers must place their orders for same-day processing. Use the HHMM string format (for example, "1530" for 3:30 PM). If you don't configure this, the system applies a default handling cutoff time.- To specify a handling cutoff time that applies across multiple or all shipping
[shipping]or carrier shipping[carrier_shipping]attributes for a product, you should use the handling cutoff time[handling_cutoff_time]attribute instead. If you don’t specify, the system applies the default timezone of the shipping destination.
- To specify a handling cutoff time that applies across multiple or all shipping
- Handling cutoff timezone
[handling_cutoff_timezone](Optional): Specify the timezone for the cutoff time. Use IANA Timezone format (for example, “America/Los_Angeles”). - Loyalty program (Optional): Specify differentiated shipping options for members using the Loyalty program label
[loyalty_program_label]and Loyalty program tier label[loyalty_tier_label].
Brazil
Canada
- Use the postal code Forward Sortation Area (FSA) identifier and don’t include Local delivery Unit (for example, M5H).
- Use a range of FSAs using a prefix with a wildcard ( * ) (for example, K*).
The United Kingdom
Use the outward code (for example, if the postal code is N1C 4AG, use N1C).
Format
Follow these formatting guidelines to ensure Google understands the data you're submitting. Learn when and how to submit your product data.
| Formatting specifications | |
|---|---|
| Technical name | shipping |
| Type | Unicode characters (Recommended: ASCII only) |
| Supported values (for the price sub-attribute) |
For AUD, CAD, CHF, EUR, GBP, NZD, SGD, USD: For RO: For AED, BRL, CNY, DKK, HKD, ILS, MYR, NOK, PLN, SAR, SEK, TRY: For ARS, CZK, MXN, THB, TWD, UAH, ZAR: For INR, JPY, PHP, RUB: For KRW: For HUF: For CLP: For COP: For VND: |
| Repeated field | Submit the shipping [shipping] attribute up to 100 times per product |
| Schema.org property |
Type: |
File format examples
To ensure your attribute is recognized correctly, use the formatting specific to your data source type.
| Data source format | Examples |
|---|---|
| Text (TSV or CSV) data sources |
Format the name by including which sub-attributes you’re submitting. Include shipping For example, to submit country, postal code, price, handling time, and transit time, handling cutoff time, and handling cutoff timezone: Name
If you name the sub-attributes you're using, you can give them to us in any order. However, if you provide sub-attribute values but don't name them, we’ll assume that your attribute values include sub-attributes in this order:
Format the value by submitting the value of each sub-attribute listed in the same order as in the name and separated with a colon ( Name To submit multiple countries, submit the attribute (with the same name) multiple times. For example: Name Name If you don’t want to provide an optional sub-attribute for a particular product, then still add a colon ( Name Name |
| XML data sources |
Include the optional sub-attributes if you need them. To specify a shipping cost for different delivery locations, submit the handling cutoff time
|
| Merchant API | To format your data in the Merchant API, check the Merchant API resource. |
Minimum requirements
These are the requirements you need to meet to show your product. If you don't follow these requirements, your product may be disapproved.
- Submit complete and correct shipping information: Shipping speed and cost are two of the most common reasons why customers abandon a product.
- Include all relevant shipping charges: Include all charges for a purchase that feature the words "shipping," "delivery," "handling," "logistics," or "carrier."
- Overestimate if you can’t provide an accurate cost: Match or slightly overestimate the cost customers would pay. However, excessive overestimating may negatively impact your product performance.
- Use the rate for shipping directly to an individual: Don’t use rates for shipping to a store. Rates that require a membership are only supported if you include the loyalty program sub-attributes.
- Display product details on your product page to all customers: Ensure that when a customer clicks your ad, they can view details about your product, even if you don’t ship to their specific location.
- Comply with local laws: Always ensure your shipping information complies with local laws and regulations.
- Provide the country sub-attribute: Always provide the country
[country]sub-attribute to ensure your products ship correctly.
Additional guidelines
Review each section closely to determine if the requirements apply to your country or product.
The United States
For the state of Colorado, don’t include any retail delivery fee in your product data source. Therefore, a retail delivery fee shouldn’t be included in shipping [shipping], price [price], or any other attribute. Learn more about Colorado retail delivery fee.
- Delivery to collections points in close proximity to a shopper's location is available only at account level and shipping costs should also be submitted at the account level.
- Collection points must be third-party locations, accessible to other retailers, and in close proximity to a shopper's location. Parcel lockers are a common type of collection point.
- Submit the shipping cost for a user’s address, a collection point, or store pickup.
- Collection points must be third-party locations, accessible to other retailers, and in close proximity to a shopper's location. Parcel lockers are a common type of collection point.
France
- Shipping costs must be added for any book sales in France.
- Match availability on your landing page with the delivery settings in your product data. If you don’t deliver your products across the entire target country, only submit shipping cost for the regions that you deliver to.
- Prominently state on your landing page that additional customs related fees may apply. For example, add a disclaimer during checkout so users are aware of these fees before they place the order. Don't submit import or export related information as part of the price attribute.
- Submit shipping cost as 0 (if shipping cost is required for your target country) when advertising an intangible product such as a software subscription, digital content, or downloadable software. You can submit shipping cost through the shipping
[shipping]attribute or through your account shipping settings.
Offer level shipping policy overrides
When the shipping attribute is used to configure shipping at the offer level, you can provide different shipping cost or speed based on factors like regionality by shipping attribute override. There are 2 ways to override shipping attribute, and each shipping offer can have up to 100 shipping overrides:
Shipping policies separated by comma (,)
Example:
| Item ID | Title | Shipping |
| 1 | Product 1 | US:94*:$1:0:1:2:3,US:95*:$5:0:1:2:3 |
Additional shipping columns
Example:
| Item ID | Shipping | Shipping |
| XXX | US:94*:$1:0:1:2:3 | US:95*:$5:0:1:2:3 |
Best practices
These best practices can help you to optimize your product data for performance.
- Use account shipping settings in Merchant Center first. Use the shipping
[shipping]attribute only as a last resort to override the settings you create at the account level. - Submit a shipping price that can be represented in your currency. Use the currency of the country you sell products in (according to ISO 4217). If your price can’t be represented in that currency, Google will round it to a value that can.
- Customize business days. Use the shipping handling business days
[shipping_handling_business_days]and shipping transit business days[shipping_transit_business_days]attributes if your operational days aren’t the default Monday to Saturday. - Use the handling cutoff time
[handling_cutoff_time]attribute to specify a handling cutoff time that applies to multiple or all shipping[shipping]or carrier shipping[carrier_shipping]attributes that you specified. - Use the minimum order value
[minimum_order_value]attribute if you need to specify a minimum order value and you submit the price[price]sub-attribute of the shipping[shipping]attribute for your product. - If you submit the attribute multiple times, don’t submit conflicting information. For example, don’t submit 2 different prices for the same region or the same service class.
- Submit shipping promotions correctly. Submit shipping promotions through the promotions data source, rather than altering the product price attribute.
- Bundle additional charges. Submit all additional shipping-related charges that you charge as a business (such as service, processing, and handling charges) in the shipping cost, rather than the price
[price]attribute. - Don’t include government-imposed fees. Avoid including import duties, recycling fees, copyright fees, or state-specific retail delivery fees in the shipping cost.
- Submit a shipping cost for a region that you ship to, either in your product data or through your account shipping settings, to avoid the possibility of your product or account to be disapproved.
- Align your Shopping campaigns in Google Ads with your shipping settings and the availability of your product.
Examples
Text formatting
To format the name, include "shipping", and then in parentheses add the names of the sub-attributes that you’re submitting separated by a colon ( : ).
For example, to submit country [country], postal code [postal_code], and price [price]:
| Example | Value |
| Name | shipping(country:postal_code:price) |
Format the value by submitting the value of each sub-attribute listed in the same order as in the name and separated with a colon ( : ).
For example:
| Example | Value |
| Name | shipping(country:postal_code:price) |
| Possible value | US:80302:6.49 USD |
| Possible value | US:30*:12.75 USD |
You can also just submit the price.
For example:
| Example | Value |
| Name | shipping(price) |
| Possible value | 6.49 USD |
If you don’t include sub-attributes in the name, still submit values for all 4 sub-attributes in this order: country [country], region [region], service [service], price [price].
For example:
| Example | Value |
| Name | shipping |
| Possible value | US:CA:Express:6.49 USD |
If you don’t want to provide an optional sub-attribute (like service) for a particular product, then still add a colon ( : ), but leave the text blank.
For example:
| Example | Value |
| Name | shipping |
| Possible value | US:::6.49 USD |
| Namen | shipping(country:region:price) |
| Possible value | US::6.49 USD |
Repeated fields (regional shipping example)
Text
You can submit up to 100 shipping values per item to indicate different costs for individual locations. To submit multiple locations, submit the attribute (with the same name) multiple times.
| Product data for an orthopedic dog bed | |
| Attribute | Value |
Title [title] |
XXL Orthopedic Dog Bed |
Shipping [shipping] |
US:94002-95460:0 USD |
Shipping [shipping] |
US:900*-901*:0 USD |
Shipping [shipping] |
US:902*-930*:15.99 USD |
XML
To submit multiple delivery groups for an XML feed, include an additional attribute for each delivery group. You can submit up to 100 shipping [shipping] attributes for each product.
<g:shipping>
<g:country>US</g:country>
<g:region>CA</g:region>
<g:service>Express</g:service>
<g:price>0 USD</g:price>
</g:shipping>
<g:shipping>
<g:country>US</g:country>
<g:region>OR</g:region>
<g:service>Ground</g:service>
<g:price>4.99 USD</g:price>
</g:shipping>
<g:shipping>
<g:country>US</g:country>
<g:region>WA</g:region>
<g:service>Ground</g:service>
<g:price>6.49 USD</g:price>
</g:shipping>
Postal codes
For Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, India, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States, you can submit ZIP codes or postal codes through the postal code [postal_code] sub-attribute. There are several different ways you can submit these values depending on the region.
Australia and the United States
- Use a ZIP or postal code (for example, 94043).
- Use a range of postal codes (for example, 94002-95460).
- Use a range of postal codes using a prefix with a wildcard ( * ) (for example, 94*).
- Use a range of postal codes using 2 prefixes with wildcards ( * ) (for example, 94*-95*).
Brazil
- Use codes before the hyphen (for example, if the postal code is 30260-070, use 30260).
Canada
- Use the postal code Forward Sortation Area (FSA) identifier. Don’t include Local Delivery Unit (for example, M5H).
- Use a range of FSAs using a prefix with a wildcard ( * ) (for example, K*).
The United Kingdom
- Use the outward code (for example, if the postal code is N1C 4AG, use N1C).
- Use a range of outward codes (SW1A-SW1Y).
- Use a range of outward codes using an area code with a wildcard ( * ) (for example, N*). Include the full area without partial district code before *. For example, N* covers Northern London (N1 - N22), but not other area codes starting with N. For the North Western postcode area, you need to provide NW*.
Free shipping, software subscriptions, and downloads
Include free shipping by submitting a value of 0 USD in the currency of your target country for the price [price] sub-attribute of the shipping [shipping] attribute. If your product is intangible, such as with a one time download or a software subscription, you would also set the shipping to 0.
| Product data for a one year subscription for Google Security software priced at 29.90 USD | |
| Attribute | Value |
Title [title] |
Google Security Software Basic Edition (one year subscription) |
Price [price] |
29.90 USD |
Google product category [google_product_category] |
Software > Computer Software > Antivirus & Security Software |
Brand [brand] |
|
Shipping [shipping] |
US:::0 USD |
Image link [image_link] |
http://www.example.com/image1.jpg |
