How to Fix Missing Shipping Information in Google Shopping Ads

Fixing missing shipping information in Google Shopping Ads starts with checking two main areas: your product data feed and your Google Merchant Center shipping settings. 

In most cases, the issue occurs because essential shipping attributes—such as country, service, cost, or dimensions—are missing or mismatched between the feed and the Merchant Center. 

By updating your product feed by using CTX Feed – WooCommerce Product Feed Plugin, adding the correct shipping sub-attributes, or configuring an accurate shipping policy directly in Merchant Center, you can quickly resolve the “missing shipping information” error and restore your product eligibility. 

Just make sure your website’s shipping details match what you submit to Google, and verify everything in the Processing Log and Needs Attention tabs to ensure a proper fix.

This technical guide explains exactly how to fix missing shipping information using the latest Google Merchant Center (GMC) standards, 2024-2025 policy updates, and best practices used by top eCommerce brands.

What Causes “Missing Shipping Information” in Google Shopping?

Google requires shipping information so shoppers can see accurate:

• Shipping cost
• Delivery time
• Shipping methods
• Geographic availability
  

If this data is missing, products cannot participate in Shopping Ads or Free Listings.

Common causes:

• No shipping service configured in GMC
• Feed missing [shipping] or [shipping_weight] attributes
• Country/region not included in shipping rules
• Currency or delivery-time mismatches
• Feed-level and account-level shipping conflicts
• Auto-sync tools are overriding your GMC setup
  

Incorrect sub-attributes (like missing country inside [shipping])

How to Fix Missing Shipping Information in Google Shopping Ads (Step-by-Step)

Step 1: Configure Shipping Settings in Google Merchant Center

This is the most reliable method for resolving missing shipping information errors.

How to set it up:

Go to Tools & Settings → Shipping & Returns

Click Add Shipping Service

Choose:

• Service Name (internal label)
• Target Countries
• Currency
• Delivery Times (handling + transit time)
• Shipping Cost Rules

Available cost models:

• Flat rate
• Weight-based
• Price-based
• Free shipping
• Carrier-calculated shipping (US: USPS, FedEx, UPS; EU: DHL etc.)

Why this works

Account-level shipping ensures all products inherit a valid shipping method, even if your feed lacks detailed attributes.

Step 2: Add Missing Shipping Attributes to Your Product Feed

If you use feed-level shipping, Google requires specific attributes:

Mandatory attributes for many stores

• [shipping]
• [shipping_weight]
• [shipping_length]
• [shipping_width]
• [shipping_height] (only for carrier-calculated shipping)

Example (XML):

<g:shipping>
  <g:country>US</g:country>
  <g:service>Standard</g:service>
  <g:price>5.00 USD</g:price>
</g:shipping>

Common feed mistakes

• Missing country inside [shipping]
• Shipping values are formatted incorrectly
• Feed currency ≠ Shipping service currency
• Auto-sync systems overwriting your feed values
  

If you’re using Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, or any plugin—make sure your feed generator supports shipping attributes properly.

Step 3: Fix Feed-Level vs Account-Level Shipping Conflicts

Google uses a strict override hierarchy:

Feed-level shipping > Account shipping settings

• This means:If your feed includes incomplete shipping attributes, → Google ignores account-level rules → error occurs.

Fix:

• EITHER remove [shipping] attributes from your feed
• OR correct all missing sub-attributes
  

THEN resubmit your feed and wait for reprocessing

This resolves 90% of “missing shipping” errors for stores using automated feeds.

Step 4: Use Shipping Labels for Complex Shipping Situations

For stores with varied product types (oversized, fragile, heavy), Google recommends using shipping labels.

Example use cases:

• “oversized” (different rule needed)
• “free_shipping” items
• “express_required” items

Add this attribute to your feed:

[shipping_label]

Then create a custom rule in GMC → Shipping Settings → Advanced rules.

Step 5: Test and Validate Shipping Using “Product Diagnostics”

Once your settings are saved:

1. Go to Products → Diagnostics → Shipping
   
2. Look for:
   
   • “Missing value: shipping.”
     
   • “Invalid or incomplete shipping attributes”
     
   • “Delivery country not supported.”
     
3. Click a product to preview how Google calculates:
   
   • Shipping cost
     
   • Delivery estimate
     
   • Service used

This is the most accurate method to confirm whether your Shipping Setup is correctly applied to individual SKUs.

Common Pitfalls & How to Avoid Them

Pitfall	Reason	Fix
Shipping works for some products but not others	Missing or inconsistent feed attributes	Unify shipping attributes across the full feed
Currency mismatch errors	Feed uses EUR, shipping rule uses USD	Make feed + shipping currency identical
Shopify/Plugin overwrites shipping	Auto-sync feeds inject incorrect values	Disable feed-level shipping in your sync tool
Shipping not applied for certain countries	GMC shipping doesn’t include those countries	Add all intended target countries to shipping service

Checklist to Fix Missing Shipping Information Quickly

✔ Enable at least one account-level shipping service

✔ Make sure feed-level shipping attributes are complete

✔ Avoid partially filled attributes (e.g., Country Missing)

✔ Set delivery times (Handling + Transit) — Required for 2024-2025

✔ Match feed + delivery country + shipping currency

✔ Test using Diagnostics after each update

Final Thoughts

Accurate shipping information is essential for running successful Google Shopping Ads, and resolving the “Missing Shipping Information” error becomes much easier once you understand how Google processes shipping data.

Whether you’re relying on Google Merchant Center’s account-level shipping settings or providing detailed shipping attributes through your product feed, the key is maintaining consistency across countries, delivery times, shipping rates, carriers, and feed formatting.

With Google’s 2024–2025 emphasis on reliable delivery estimates and transparent buyer expectations, ensuring your shipping configuration is complete and error-free plays a major role in product eligibility, ad performance, CTR, and overall conversion rates.

A properly structured shipping setup not only keeps your catalog compliant but also strengthens customer trust and improves visibility across both Shopping Ads and Free Listings.