Have you noticed your product prices appearing higher than usual in Google Shopping Ads? You're not alone.
Google has been rolling out changes to how it displays product prices in Shopping Ads to comply with the UK's Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act (DMCCA).
Under these changes, mandatory delivery fees must now be included in the headline price shoppers see in Google Shopping Ads, rather than appearing as an additional cost later in the buying journey.
The aim is to prevent drip pricing, where shoppers are initially shown a lower price, only to discover additional charges at checkout.
While this change isn't entirely new, the rollout has moved quickly in recent weeks.
Initial testing began in August and September 2026, affecting just 1% of traffic. But by 15 October, this had increased to 10%, reaching 50% by 19 October, and with the rollout continuing to expand, a full UK implementation is expected very soon.
First and most importantly, this isn't a change advertisers can simply opt out of.
As the update is linked to legislation, displaying accurate delivery information is a legal requirement in the UK and 18 other countries. Removing or hiding these mandatory delivery costs could result in widespread product disapprovals in Google Merchant Centre.
If you're concerned about how these changes might affect your business, it's worth remembering that you're not alone. The same requirements apply to all UK retailers advertising through Google Shopping.
So if your products have additional delivery charges, you're not the only advertiser whose headline prices will be affected. Your competitors with mandatory delivery fees will also need to reflect these costs in their advertised prices.
But the impact won't necessarily be the same for every business.
While any advertiser charging additional delivery fees could see changes to their Shopping Ads, some businesses are likely to feel the impact more than others.
This is particularly relevant for retailers selling products individually but who are calculating delivery costs around larger, heavier or bulk orders.
Take flooring or kitchen suppliers, for example.
A customer might see the price of a single kitchen door or one square metre of flooring in a Shopping Ad. However, the associated delivery fee may be calculated with a much larger order in mind.
Before:
After:
But when that delivery cost is added to the advertised price of a single unit, the product can suddenly appear considerably more expensive.
For businesses running these types of pricing frameworks, the challenge is staying competitive in Google Shopping while accurately reflecting delivery costs.
At Mabo, we're already working with our clients on the consequences of these changes and exploring the best ways to respond, particularly with the busy Q4 shopping period already here.
So while you can't avoid the new requirements, a few approaches are worth considering.
For some businesses, reviewing delivery pricing and introducing more flexible shipping tiers could help keep smaller orders competitive. Retailers with physical stores could also explore Local Inventory Ads by offering free Click & Collect as an alternative to delivery charges.
It's also worth reviewing how products are grouped within Google Shopping campaigns. Separating products with higher and lower delivery costs could help Google's automated bidding strategies better understand and optimise towards their different performance patterns.
However, it’s important to remember that there's no one-size-fits-all solution and that the right approach will depend on your products, delivery costs, existing campaign structure and wider business goals.
It's still early days, so we'll need more data before drawing any firm conclusions about the overall impact on campaign performance.
But for now, there are a couple of key metrics you could keep an eye on:
With delivery costs included upfront, shoppers can more easily compare the total price of products among different advertisers. If your delivery-inclusive price is higher than a competitor's, then shoppers may be less likely to click through to your website.
This makes having a competitive and commercially sensible delivery pricing structure even more important than ever.
By showing the total price upfront, shoppers know exactly what they'll pay before clicking on an ad. This transparency helps them make more informed decisions from the beginning, rather than being surprised by delivery charges later in the process.
Because of this, you could see fewer clicks from casual browsers but a higher proportion of visitors with genuine purchase intent, which could improve conversion rates by making shoppers less likely to abandon their purchase when delivery costs are revealed at checkout.
But it’s important to keep in mind that these are potential outcomes rather than guaranteed changes and that the impact will vary depending on your products, pricing, competition and customer behaviour.
Google Shopping is constantly evolving, and keeping up with the latest changes is important to understand how they could affect your advertising performance.
With these changes rolling out across the UK, now is a good time to review how your delivery costs are structured and how they could influence your visibility and performance in Google Shopping.
While the update brings some challenges, particularly for businesses with complex delivery pricing structures, it also creates an opportunity to better understand how shipping costs influence customer behaviour and purchasing decisions. The key is to monitor performance and make adjustments where needed.
Whether that's reviewing delivery tiers, exploring Click & Collect opportunities or refining campaign structures, the right solution will depend on your individual account.
If you're unsure how these pricing changes could affect your campaigns, or you'd like to explore the opportunities for your business, feel free to get in touch. At Mabo, we work closely with our platform partners to stay on top of the latest developments and understand what they mean for your business.