The official Google Commerce blog recently published a post outlining that effective 15th September 2015, Google require all shopping data feeds to contain a GTIN (Global Trade Item Number). This means that all sellers need to include GTINs for the products listed in the feeds they provide to Google.

A GS1 GTIN uniquely identifies a product as it moves through the global supply chain to the ultimate end-user. These numbers are generally found above or below the GS1 barcode on the product packaging.

Google said “We’ve found that providing GTINs in your product data feed increases the likelihood that your offers are matched to the Google Shopping product catalogue. This helps us surface relevant, accurate results on Google Shopping; in fact, early experiments indicate that offers matched to the catalogue receive up to 40% more user clicks than those that do not.”

This requirement is now active so any Google shopping feeds targeting Australia, Brazil, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States must submit a valid GTIN and brand for all new branded products.

Mark Fuller, GS1 Australia’s Chief Operating Officer said, “As one of the main building blocks of the GS1 system, the GTIN enables items to be sourced and traded globally in the knowledge that they can be scanned and have data retrieved from them in any application that is GS1 compliant. If you are a retailer or manufacturer, the GTIN is a vital component of your business in the age of digital disruption.”

Google have also clearly stated that they will disapprove offers that do not meet this requirement or are submitted with GTINs that are invalid.

“As the world continues to transition through the digital transformation and the emerging retail reality of the omni-channel shopper, companies are actively undergoing a process of change to embrace the digital future. Amazon and eBay are also requesting sellers to use GTINs in their new listing feeds to enhance the quality of product data to improve online and mobile search results,” added Mr Fuller.

Alibaba and 40 other Chinese e-commerce companies have also committed to adopting GS1 standards to greatly improve China’s e-commerce and e-retailer business development and enable e-commerce companies to provide even better service to their customers.

About GS1 Australia

GS1 Australia is the Australian member of GS1, a not-for-profit, global organisation that develops and maintains the most widely-used supply chain standards in the world and a leader in facilitating efficient international business. GS1 Australia currently serves 22 industry sectors and supports more than 17,000 members nationally to improve supply chain efficiency and cost effectiveness by adopting best practice GS1 global standards. For more information visit http://www.gs1au.org/