Google has expanded its Google Shopping’s local inventory ads to 23 additional countries including Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Finland, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Indonesia, Israel, Malaysia, Philippines, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, UAE, Ukraine, and Vietnam.
Local inventory ads are a feature of Google Shopping that allows retailers to promote their in-store inventory to local consumers. These ads show real-time inventory from nearby stores, complete with product details, prices, and store information. This feature is beneficial for shoppers looking for a specific item and wanting to buy it locally.
To participate, retailers must provide Google with a regularly updated feed of their in-store inventory, including product availability, pricing, Google Business Profile store ID, etc. When a potential customer searches for a product on Google, the platform uses this data to display relevant local inventory ads.
Setting up local inventory ads involves several steps:
- Setting up a Google Merchant Center Account and opting into local inventory ads.
- Enabling the program through the Google Merchant Center.
- Adding an About Us link during the local inventory setup guide, if targeting Austria, Germany, and Switzerland.
- Creating a local product feed by setting up a primary feed.
- Creating a local product inventory feed under the supplement feed section.
- Requesting verification, which is the last step in the approval process.
However, local inventory ads require meticulous data management. Retailers must ensure that their inventory feeds are accurate and updated frequently. Integrating these systems with existing inventory management and POS systems can be complex and may require technical adjustments or upgrades.
