Automatic shipping updates, initially launched in the U.S., have now been observed live in European Google Merchant Center accounts. A new section under Products > Automatic Improvements shows the option for “Automatic shipping updates,” and clicking it opens a popup detailing how the feature works, and an option to opt in.
This capability allows Merchant Center Next to update delivery time estimates automatically using linked tracking data or Google’s StoreBot crawler. It does not modify your existing shipping policy info, which must still be updated manually. The goal is to provide shoppers with more accurate shipping times, potentially improving conversion rates.
All accounts are opted out by default. Merchants must opt in manually to activate shipping updates, similar to existing settings for price, availability, and condition updates.
This news was spotted by Hana Kobzová.
Read more about this feature from its US launch in June: Google Merchant Center Adds Automatic Shipping Updates.