This article describes setups possibly affected by the changes we make to multi-channel products. No action is required from you unless you have received a related email announcement.
You can use multi-channel products to manage your inventory for both online and in-store sales within a single, unified product listing. This approach simplifies how you manage your products and helps you reach more customers.
With multi-channel products, you can oversee your online and in-store inventory together. Previously, you might have maintained separate listings for the same product if you sold it both online and in physical stores. This could sometimes lead to inconsistencies and make inventory management more complex.
On this page
Benefits
Using multi-channel products offers a more streamlined and efficient way to manage your inventory, leading to a more consistent experience for your customers. This updated approach addresses previous challenges:
- Simplified management: Reduces the complexity and potential for errors that could arise from managing separate online and in-store listings for the same item.
- Improved consistency: Helps prevent inconsistencies between your online and in-store product information, which could confuse customers and affect how your products perform.
- Accurate inventory: Minimizes the risk of inventory discrepancies, leading to more accurate product availability for your customers.
How it works
Previously, when you submitted product information for both online and physical store sales using certain methods, the system might have created 2 separate internal records for that product. These records could sometimes be modified independently, potentially leading to different information for your online and in-store versions of the same product.
With the updated multi-channel product system, we are moving towards a more consistent approach. Product information for both online and in-store availability will be managed in a more unified way, reducing the chances of attribute differences between the online and in-store versions of your product.
Key changes and considerations
- Unified product representation: Your products, intended for both online and in-store sales will be managed as a single multi-channel product.
- Consistent product data: The system will work to ensure that core product attributes (like title, description, etc.) remain consistent for a product, whether it's shown for online or in-store purchase.
- API users: For products managed as multi-channel, you will interact with a single product representation. The channel field within the ProductStatusDestinationStatus object in the Content API can help distinguish how a product is performing across different programs like Shopping ads or local inventory ads.
Note: The channel field is a part of
ProductStatusDestinationStatusobject of the Content API. Although the "channel" fields in the new systems like Merchant API may be supported as legacy features, it's important to scope the new field "channel"' to the soon-to-be-deprecated Content API. - Potential conflicts: If you submit a product intended for multi-channel sales (online and local) and a separate local-only product using the same product ID, content language, and feed label, this may result in processing issues or errors.
Note: If a multi-channel product is set up for your physical stores and has local inventory, ensure it doesn't use the same product ID, content language, and feed label as an existing product submitted only for local inventory ads. Using the same information for both can cause conflicts.
- Consistent Attributes: With multi-channel products, the aim is to have consistent core attribute values for a product across both online and in-store displays. If you need to maintain different attributes for ad targeting (like custom label
[custom_label]) for the online versus the in-store version of a product, we recommend using 2 distinct products with unique product IDs. - Supplemental Data Sources: If you use supplemental data sources to provide additional product information, ensure they are kept up-to-date. Outdated information in supplemental data sources can lead to inaccuracies in your product listings.
- Unique Product Submissions: Submitting the same product (identified by its ID, content language, and feed label) through multiple primary data sources can lead to processing errors. We recommend ensuring each unique product is submitted using a single, authoritative primary data source to maintain data accuracy and clarity.
Note: Previously, uploading products with the same ID, content language, and feed label through multiple data sources could lead to unexpected behavior, along with an “ item uploaded through multiple feeds” error. With multi-channel products, these instances now result in errors to ensure data accuracy and clarity.
Early access for API and automated product data sources
We are gradually rolling out a new feature that allows you to select local marketing methods on API and Automated product data sources. If you don't yet have access to the feature and would like to join the program, submit this interest form.
This simplifies the setup for local inventory ads (LIA) and free local listings for merchants who use the API or have products automatically added from their online store. The following sections describe the visible changes in behavior that result from this update.
How to prepare for this update
We are unifying how users interact with Multi-Channel products across all available surfaces: Content API, Merchant API, Big query, and Merchant Center.
Content API for shopping
Multi-Channel products can target all marketing methods
It’s possible to enable marketing methods for both online and physical stores:
- For Content API data sources.
- For individual multi-channel products with the help of attributes such as the included destination
[included_destination]attribute.
No local-only product visible for Multi-Channel product uploaded using file data sources
products.update() call with multi-channel products.Multi-Channel product may conflict with local-only products submitted using API
products.update() calls with the product’s REST ID with the channel set to local will be rejected. For users who need attribute values different between online and physical stores, we recommend using 2 different products, that is, use 2 separate Product IDs.If a multi-channel product targets any marketing method for physical stores and has local inventory, it will conflict with an existing local-only product with the corresponding REST ID. More specifically:
- If a local-only product with the corresponding
REST IDsexists, the multi-channel product will not become effective for marketing methods for physical stores and the “Product ID already used” item-level issue will be raised. - If the multi-channel product is effective for any marketing method for physical stores, any attempt to insert a local-only product with the corresponding
REST IDwill fail and the “Product ID already used” issue will be raised.
Local Inventory can be inserted with “online” channel
localinventory.insert() will also accept items with “online” channel in the REST ID. The inventory will be used by the corresponding multi-channel product if it targets a marketing method for physical stores, unless a conflicting local-only product with the REST ID with the channel set to local exists. If a local-only product corresponding to the REST ID with the channel set to local exists, it will pick up the inventory instead, even if the inventory has been inserted with “online” channel.productstatuses API returns combined statuses and issues
Shopping_ads) or whether it’s the “Shopping” destination corresponding to that of local-only products (that corresponds to Local_inventory_ads).Merchant API
By default, data source is multi-channel
Multi-channel products require no channel, can use all marketing methods
There is no channel in the REST name for multi-channel products. Multi-channel products can target marketing methods for both online and physical stores.
Multi-channel product may block the REST name with the “local” channel
Local inventory can be inserted to a multi-channel product
ProductStatus contains status for all marketing methods
Both marketing methods for online store and physical stores may show up in a ProductStatus of a single multi-channel product.
Google Merchant Center Transfers for BigQuery
The products table has multi-channel products exported with an “online” channel. The local inventories table of BigQuery Data Transfer Service may contain product_id with the “online” channel.
List of broken configurations
Content API’s products.update() and products.insert() for products uploaded using data sources targeting both online and physical stores
Merchant Center UI allows to create data sources that can target marketing methods for both online and physical stores. In the past, it was possible to manipulate the parts targeting online stores and the parts targeting physical stores independently. More specifically it was possible to issue:
products.update()with an “online” channel, affecting only marketing methods for online stores.products.update()with a “local” channel, affecting only marketing methods for physical stores.products.insert()with a supplemental data source's id used as thefeedIdparameter and 'online' channel, affecting only marketing methods for online stores.products.insert()with a supplemental data source's id used as thefeedIdparameter and 'local' channel, affecting only marketing methods for physical stores.
products.update() with “online” channel for multi-channel product
For multi-channel products, products.update() with an “online” channel will affect both marketing methods for online stores and marketing methods for physical stores.
products.update() with “local” channel for multi-channel product
For multi-channel products, products.update() calls with “local” channels are rejected.
products.insert() with a supplemental data source’s id used as the feedId parameter and “online” channel for multi-channel product
For multi-channel products, products.insert() with a supplemental data source’s id used as the feedId parameter and “online” channel will affect both marketing methods for online stores and marketing methods for physical stores.
products.insert() with a supplemental data source’s id used as the feedId parameter and “local” channel for multi-channel product
For multi-channel products, products.insert() with a supplemental data source’s id used as the feedId parameter and “local” channel will be rejected.
The affected configuration
Assume that there is a product data source that can target both marketing methods both online store and physical stores. Assume that any marketing method for physical stores is enabled.
In the past, using Content API’s products.update() with the “local” channel worked for the items supplied with such data. This system update changes that: products.update() with the “local” channel for the item supplied with such data sources will fail.
Suggested resolution
Merchants who need to have different attribute sets for marketing methods for online stores and for marketing methods for physical stores shouldn’t try to achieve that with a single product. We recommend using 2 different products in this case - with 2 different product IDs, managed separately. Channel isn’t considered a part of product ID that can be used for differentiation.
A multi-channel product gets superceded only as a whole
Consider this scenario:
- Upload a multi-channel product using a data source targeting marketing methods for both online and physical stores.
- Upload a product with the same ID, content language, and feed label using another data source targeting marketing methods for online stores only.
The product uploaded in step 2 supersedes the product uploaded in step 1 for marketing methods for online stores. In the past, step 1 also created a separate product targeting marketing methods for physical stores that remains. This system update changes this behavior: any local effects due to step 1 are removed. Note that the step 2 also causes the “Item uploaded through multiple feeds” warning.
A multi-channel product blocks the corresponding local-only product’s ID
Consider the same scenario as above, but with a local-only product in step 2:
- Upload a multi-channel product using a data source targeting marketing methods for both online and physical stores.
- Upload a local-only product with the same ID, content language, and feed label using another data source targeting marketing methods for physical store only.
In the past, the local-only product uploaded in step 2 superseded the product uploaded in step 1, but only for marketing methods for physical stores. This system update changes this behavior:
- If the product from step 1 has local inventory, the local-only product from step 2 will fail to upload and cause the “Product ID already used” error.
- If the product from step 1 has no local inventory, the local-only product from step 2 will upload successfully with no warning.
An existing local-only product will prevent a multi-channel product from becoming effective for marketing method for physical stores
Consider this scenario:
- Upload a local-only product.
- Upload a multi-channel product with the same ID, content language, and data source label using another data source targeting marketing methods for physical stores (and possibly marketing methods for online stores, too).
The multi-channel product will not become effective for marketing methods for physical stores, the “Product ID already used” error will be raised. All of that is due to the local-only product from step 1 and will resolve automatically, eventually, after the local-only product has been deleted.
Suggested resolution
Merchants should not upload items with the same product ID, content language, and data source label using multiple data sources. In the past, the behavior was rather complex and often resulted in erroneous data source configurations. This system update changes this behavior: conflicts with local-only products result in “Product ID already used” errors.
Data from old supplemental data sources not being fully effective
Suggested resolution
Make sure that the content of all supplemental sources referenced by primary sources is updated reasonably frequently. It is definitely sufficient to have the supplemental sources updated after any changes to the affected primary sources have been made. For any supplemental source with the content that hasn’t been updated for more than one year, the content should be updated. Or, if the supplemental source isn’t necessary anymore, it should be deleted.