How to fix: Missing inventory data

Add data for this item in your local product inventory data

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Why this issue is happening
Common reasons for missing inventory data
How to fix your issue
Next steps

Why this issue is happening

Products disapproved for “missing inventory data” are products that don’t have corresponding inventory data in your local inventory data. Below is a list of common reasons for missing inventory data.

If you submitted an inventory file, the reasons why your inventory data has been rejected can be found in the issues shown under the “Latest update” tab.

To quickly identify the cause of the error, check if your product IDs match exactly in your product data and local inventory data, and ensure all required attributes are present, such as availability and store code. If the issue persists after these checks, you can contact our support team.

Common reasons for missing inventory data

Local inventory ads and free listings are opted in for all of your products. But all the products may not be available in your physical stores, this could lead to the missing inventory data error. If you’re certain that the products shown with this error are available for free local listings and local inventory ads, review the following reasons:

Your local product inventory data source may be missing required attributes. Key attributes include store_code, id, quantity, and availability.
- Store code [store_code]: Ensure this attribute is present for all local items and its values exactly match the store codes listed in your linked Google Business Profile (they are case-sensitive). Re-upload your data source after adding/correcting store codes.
- Availability [availability]: This attribute must accurately reflect the product's current stock status (such as "in stock" and "out of stock"). This value must be consistent with your website landing page and any structured data (Schema.org) on the page. If missing or incorrect, update your local product inventory data source and structured data.
- If you’re using pickup later with product data, make sure you provide supported values for the pickup SLA [pickup_SLA] attribute and that the availability [availability] attribute for products eligible for store pickup is set to in_stock in your product data source.
To resolve issues, delete the manually added inventory data and re-upload your data using the recommended methods. Ensure your local inventory data source file is in a supported format (.txt (tab-delimited), .xml, or .tsv). If you are using .csv, convert it to .txt or .tsv. When uploading, select the "Local product inventory" data source type, not "Supplemental data source" for your main local inventory data. Learn how to Manage products in your Merchant Center account.
- Ensure your Business Profiles for physical stores are correctly linked to your Merchant Center account.
  - If you linked using an email address, go to Settings in the left navigation menu and select Business info. Then select the Stores tab, and then select View Profiles to check for any associated Business Profiles.
- There may be issues with the linked Business Profiles, like Unclaimed or Disabled Business Profile or missing store codes.
  - If you linked your Google Business Profiles using email address, all of your business groups will be linked to the Merchant Center account. To check for Business Profiles errors or missing store codes, review the business groups in your Google Business Manager.
  - To resolve issues, try creating a separate data source for online only products to prevent the missing inventory data disapproval.
  - If you’re using the excluded destination [excluded_destination] attribute, be sure to:
    - Use the “Set to multiple” or “Add repeated field” operators.
    - Note: Using standard operators can interfere with being able to opt-out online-exclusive products effectively.
    - Keep in mind: The excluded destination [excluded_destination] attribute alone may not override feed-level inventory expectations if the marketing method is still active at the data source level.
  - If you’re using mixed online and local marketing methods in the same data source, navigate to the “Source settings” and uncheck “Physical store marketing methods”. Learn more about Marketing Methods.

Note: Product ID is case sensitive. The information you use to link items across your online and local data must match exactly.

How to fix your issue

To show your local products on Google, a product must be available in at least one store.

Fix multiple products at once

Go to Products under the Products & store tab in Merchant Center, then select the Needs attention tab.
Use the filter icon above the table to find all products affected by your issue.
Select the Download icon to download a list (.csv) of all affected products for all issues or this particular issue.
Cross reference the downloaded list with your uploaded local inventory data, and make sure that all products that are currently missing inventory data have inventory information.
Reupload your corrected local inventory data to Merchant Center using your chosen upload method.

Next steps

After making the requested changes, check that you’ve fixed the issue by making sure it’s no longer listed on the “Needs attention” page.

Keep in mind:

Once you’ve identified the issue and addressed it, make sure you update your inventory source.
If you’re using pickup later with your product data you will have to update your product data instead of your inventory data.
Any changes to your Business Profiles can take up 24 hours to be reflected in the Merchant Center.
It may take some time for your change to be reflected on the “Needs attention” page.

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