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This help center shows articles applicable to Merchant Center Next. Learn more about the upgrade and get answers to frequently asked questions.

Shipping weight [shipping_weight]

The shipping weight [shipping_weight] attribute lets you include the weight to use when calculating shipping costs through your Merchant Center settings. For example, you would submit the shipping weight attribute when using carrier-calculated rates.

An illustration showing a package on a scale

In this article


When to use

Optional Optional for each product

If you set your account shipping settings in Merchant Center based on weight, then use the shipping weight [shipping_weight] attribute to submit the weight for each product. Methods that calculate shipping using weight include carrier-calculated rates and shipping weight tables. If the weight for your product exceeds the supported value, use the shipping label [shipping_label] attribute instead to configure shipping rates. Learn more about shipping settings

Format

Follow these formatting guidelines to make sure Google understands the data you're submitting. Learn when and how to submit your product data in English

Type Number plus unit
Supported units

Supported values: lb, oz, g, and kg

Limits

For imperial: 0–2000 lbs
For metric: 0–1000 kg

Note: Decimal points to the values are supported.
For example, 1.25 kg
Repeated field No
File format Example entry
Text feed

3 kg

XML feed <g:shipping_weight>3 kg</g:shipping_weight>

 

To format your data for Content API, see the Content API for Shopping resource.

Note: To ensure that this product data attribute gets recognized by our system correctly, remember to submit your data source file in a format that we support.

Best practices

These best practices can help you go beyond the basic requirements to optimize your product data for performance.

  • Set up shipping services through Merchant Center. To take advantage of the weight that you submit, make sure to set up shipping services through Merchant Center.
  • Use the actual shipping weight. Some carriers take into account both weight and package dimensions when calculating shipping cost. When you use a carrier-calculated setting, we’ll calculate the applicable shipping cost based on both weight and dimension. Submit dimensions through shipping length [shipping_length], shipping width [shipping_width], and shipping height [shipping_height].
  • Respect carrier weight limits. All carriers have limits to what can be shipped using their services and most carriers don't accept packages over a certain weight. Carrier rates don't support products exceeding these limits and you should define shipping cost for them using shipping tables.

Additional guidelines

Review each section closely to determine if the requirements apply to your country or product. If you don't follow requirements that apply to you, we'll disapprove your product and let you know in your Merchant Center account.

Freight shipping, less than truckload shipping (LTL)
  • Use a shipping table to set up LTL shipping costs in your account shipping settings. Carrier-calculated rates don’t support LTL pricing for heavy or large products.
  • Submit the shipping label [shipping_label] attribute to assign a freight class to each product and define multiple shipping groups in Merchant Center. You can then create tables specific to each freight class.
  • Use the highest possible shipping cost a user might pay. If you have difficulties submitting accurate shipping costs (for example, due to real-time cost calculations at checkout), you should submit the highest possible shipping cost a user might pay.
 

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