Google Shopping Campaigns Are Getting Local Inventory Ads by Default on August 31 — What Ecommerce Brands Must Do Now

On July 28, 2026, Google officially confirmed that Local Inventory Ads (LIA) will be enabled by default for every Shopping campaign in Google Ads starting August 31, giving advertisers just 34 days to audit and restructure any campaigns that separate online and local inventory. For ecommerce brands with physical store locations, this means local product feeds will automatically serve alongside online Shopping ads, changing how budgets are allocated and conversions are attributed across every affected campaign.

What Does Google's Local Inventory Ads Default Mean for Your Shopping Campaigns?

Every Shopping campaign in your Google Ads account will automatically include Local Inventory Ads on August 31. If your brand has physical store locations and a local product feed in Google Merchant Center, those in-store products will begin appearing alongside your online inventory in Shopping results, whether you intended them to or not. This change aligns standard Shopping campaigns with Performance Max for Retail, which has had LIA enabled by default for years.

What Is Google Local Inventory Ads and Why Does This Change Matter?

Local Inventory Ads let shoppers see whether a product is available at a nearby physical store directly in Google Shopping results. Previously, advertisers had to explicitly opt in by setting the enable_local field to true in a campaign's ShoppingSetting to serve products from their Local Inventory Ads feed. Google's change flips that default permanently.

The change also has significant implications for developers and agencies managing campaigns via the Google Ads API. After August 31, the Campaign.ShoppingSetting.enable_local field will be ignored for Shopping campaigns. On API v25.1 and later, attempting to set enable_local to false will return a ContextError.OPERATION_NOT_PERMITTED_FOR_CONTEXT error. On earlier API versions, the value will be silently overridden to true with no error returned. You can find a full timeline of Google Ads structural changes in our Google Ads 2026 update tracker.

If you have been separating online and local inventory by relying on the enable_local flag, that control is going away on August 31. You need a new inventory filtering strategy before the deadline.

How Does the August 31 Deadline Affect Ecommerce Brands Without Physical Stores?

If your brand sells exclusively online with no local product feed in Google Merchant Center and no verified store locations in your Business Profile, this change has no practical effect on your Shopping campaigns. LIA can only surface local inventory when that data exists in your Merchant Center account.

However, if your brand has any retail distribution, pop-up shop data, or regional partner stores connected to your Merchant Center, those local feeds may start surfacing through your Shopping campaigns on August 31. Now is the right time to audit your Merchant Center feeds and confirm which data is attached to your account. For brands running AI Max for Shopping, this also intersects with the AI Max expansion announced in July, which broadens query reach across the same Shopping campaign structure.

What Happens When Local and Online Inventory Compete in the Same Campaign?

The core concern for brands operating both channels is budget dilution and reporting confusion. When local and online inventory run together inside a single Shopping campaign, you lose the ability to set separate bids, budgets, and ROAS targets for each. A campaign optimized for a 5x online ROAS may begin delivering for in-store pickup intent, pulling spend toward lower-value local conversions and skewing your reported return.

Google's answer is inventory filtering. Instead of relying on the deprecated enable_local flag, advertisers now have two ways to restrict a Shopping campaign to online-only products: add a listing scope via CampaignCriterionService with product_channel set to ONLINE, or use the Inventory filter inside the campaign settings UI. For most advertisers, the UI filter is the fastest path to implement without touching API code. Brands running complex multi-campaign Shopping structures should work with an experienced Google Ads agency to restructure properly before the deadline.

What Should You Do Before August 31 to Protect Your Shopping Campaign Performance?

1. Audit your Google Merchant Center feeds today: Go to Merchant Center and confirm whether you have an active local product feed. Identify which Shopping campaigns currently have local inventory disabled, since those are the ones at risk of unintended expansion on August 31.
2. Segment campaigns by inventory type now: If you want to keep local and online inventory separate after August 31, apply an Inventory filter (in the campaign settings UI) or a product_channel: ONLINE listing scope via API to your online-only Shopping campaigns. Do this before the change takes effect.
3. Update any API integrations before upgrading to v25.1: If you or your agency manage campaigns programmatically, remove any code that sets enable_local to false before migrating to Google Ads API v25.1 or later, to avoid surfacing errors in your campaign management workflows.
4. Review your bidding targets for August: Campaigns that suddenly include local inventory may see shifts in conversion rate and average order value. Check your Target ROAS and Target CPA settings now, especially given the separate bidding change landing August 17 for budget-limited campaigns across Shopping and Performance Max.
5. Refresh your local product feed data: If local inventory is going to run, make sure store hours, stock levels, pickup options, and addresses in Merchant Center are accurate and current. Stale local feed data will undermine ad quality and the shopper experience for every local impression your campaigns serve.

Two changes are hitting Shopping campaigns within two weeks of each other in August. Audit your campaign structure before the first deadline, not after the second one lands.

Have Questions About Google's Local Inventory Ads Default?

Related Reading

• Google AI Max for Shopping Campaigns Is Expanding: What Ecommerce Brands Need to Know Now
• Google Ads August 17: The Target CPA and Target ROAS Bidding Change Ecommerce Brands Must Act On
• CTC's Google Ads Management for Ecommerce Brands

Want Help Auditing Your Shopping Campaigns Before August 31?

Two significant Shopping campaign changes are landing within two weeks of each other this August. If you are running a complex Google Ads structure and want a second set of eyes before the deadlines hit, our team can help you audit, restructure, and protect your performance.

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