Google Launches Loyalty Tools for Retail Merchants
▼ Summary
– Google has introduced a new Merchant loyalty offering, allowing retailers to display existing member perks like pricing, shipping, and points across free listings and paid Shopping ads.
– A new loyalty goal in Google Ads enables advertisers to optimize campaigns toward higher-value customers with a long-term focus, rather than just short-term clicks.
– Loyalty benefits are visible across multiple touchpoints, including Search and Shopping results, with personalized annotations for known members in the U.S. using Customer Match.
– The program is available in select countries, requires an existing loyalty program, and mandates specific feed attributes and discount thresholds for participation.
– Retailers can get started by enabling the loyalty add-on in Merchant Center, updating product feeds, and using Customer Match for personalization in the U.S.
Google has introduced a suite of new loyalty tools designed to help retail merchants showcase their existing membership benefits directly within search and shopping results. This initiative allows businesses to display exclusive perks such as member pricing, shipping advantages, and loyalty points across both free product listings and paid Shopping ads, enhancing visibility and encouraging repeat customer engagement.
Retailers with established loyalty programs can now activate a dedicated add-on through Merchant Center, making it possible to highlight special offers where shoppers are actively comparing products. These benefits may include discounted member pricing, expedited shipping options, or rewards points, all visible on Google Search, the Shopping tab, and even within Google Wallet.
Alongside these display features, Google Ads is rolling out a new loyalty goal that enables advertisers to optimize campaigns for higher-value, repeat customers rather than focusing solely on one-time conversions. This strategic shift encourages brands to prioritize long-term customer relationships over short-term transactional metrics.
Shoppers may encounter these loyalty indicators in several formats, such as a special member price displayed alongside the standard cost, or a tag highlighting free shipping for program participants. In the United States, retailers using Customer Match can show personalized loyalty annotations to recognized members. Google is also testing the display of member pricing for unidentified users in the U.S. and Australia, with plans to expand to additional markets.
Eligibility for the program is currently limited to merchants based in the U.S., U.K., Germany, France, and Australia. Participants must operate an existing loyalty program and activate the loyalty add-on through Merchant Center. Discounts must meet a minimum threshold, either 5% off the standard price or five units of the local currency. It’s important to note that site-wide promotions will override member-specific pricing in ads.
To implement these features, retailers need to incorporate a dedicated “loyalty_program” attribute into their product feed, including details like member price, points earned, shipping benefits, and other perks. Google requires that all information submitted in the feed matches what appears on the retailer’s website to ensure consistency and transparency.
For personalized ad annotations in the U.S., the use of Customer Match is mandatory. Google is also experimenting with extending this capability to free listings. Retailers interested in adopting these tools should begin by enabling the loyalty add-on, defining membership tiers, updating product feeds with accurate attributes, and maintaining current Customer Match lists.
The introduction of these features allows merchants to emphasize the value of membership at the critical moment when shoppers are making purchasing decisions. By integrating loyalty benefits directly into discovery channels, brands can stand out from competitors even before a click occurs.
The new loyalty goal in Google Ads further supports this approach by aligning campaign optimization with customer retention objectives. Advertisers can now refine bidding strategies to attract and retain shoppers with higher lifetime value, moving beyond volume-based metrics toward more sustainable growth.
For retailers with active loyalty initiatives, this update represents a significant opportunity to merge acquisition and retention efforts within a unified platform. Early testing and adoption are recommended to fully leverage the potential of these tools and measure their impact on customer engagement and sales.
(Source: Search Engine Journal)
