How to Connect Shopify with Google Local Inventory to Drive More Foot Traffic to Your Physical Store

Here's how to implement the Shopify and Google Local Inventory integration.

This integration was released rather quietly, but I believe it represents a significant growth opportunity for merchants who operate physical stores.

Use the Shopify and Google Local Inventory integration to streamline foot traffic to your physical store and drive both online and offline growth.

For a step-by-step guide to setting up Google Ads on Shopify from the ground up, please refer to the article below. If you want to understand the full picture, check it out.

StoreHero leverages its proprietary growth platform to support business growth through highly granular campaign management that manual operations simply can't achieve, as well as the large-scale execution of growth initiatives.
If you're struggling to increase sales on Shopify, feel free to reach out. =>Download our free service overview here

What Is Google Local Inventory Integration?

Google Local Inventory integration is a feature that syncs your physical store's inventory data with Google. By connecting your in-store inventory with Google, you can display real-time stock availability at your physical locations on Google Shopping, Google Maps, and more.

When shoppers search for products while out and about, they can see whether an item is in stock at a nearby store directly in the search results — making this a highly effective tool for driving foot traffic.

Combined with Google Shopping Ads as Google Local Inventory Ads, you can display stock availability and the distance to your store within Shopping ad placements, creating a strong incentive for customers to visit in person.

Easy Integration If You Use Shopify POS

If you're using Shopify POS, you can set up Google Local Inventory integration without any custom development.

In the past, implementing Google Local Inventory integration required manually creating and managing feed data, which posed a significant barrier. Now, it can be set up easily as a built-in Shopify feature.

Even if you don't plan to run Google Local Inventory Ads, connecting Google Local Inventory is still worthwhile — it's essentially like creating an additional e-commerce storefront on Google Maps, increasing your product visibility and exposure opportunities.

Physical Stores as a New Customer Acquisition Channel

Despite being easy to implement, as of December 2022, relatively few merchants have set up Google Local Inventory — making it a first-mover opportunity.

Physical stores can offer richer experiences than websites or social media, but securing high-traffic locations has traditionally come with high fixed costs.

However, by effectively leveraging features like the Google Local Inventory integration introduced here, merchants can attract customers even in lower-rent locations — opening up new revenue streams. Google and Instagram both offer additional local search solutions, so it's well worth making the most of them.

In fact, merchants I've supported who acted quickly have already seen increased visibility on Google, as confirmed through Google Merchant Center. Merchants who can respond swiftly to these kinds of market opportunities are the ones who will consistently achieve steady growth.

How to Set Up Google Local Inventory Integration in Shopify

Shopify includes a built-in feature for connecting with Google Local Inventory, making integration straightforward. Here's how to do it.

Please note that you must be using Shopify POS in order to use Shopify's native Google Local Inventory integration.

Step 1: Create a Google Business Profile

Before connecting Shopify with Google Local Inventory, you'll need to create a Google Business Profile (Google Business Profile).

In your Google Business Profile, register your store name, physical address, business hours, contact information, and photos. All information must be accurate — use your official store name rather than a tagline or slogan. For photos, add images of the store interior, exterior, and staff.

Please note that if the address of your Shopify POS location does not match the address in your Google Business Profile, the integration will fail.

Step 2: Create a Google Merchant Center Account

You'll also need a Google Merchant Center account. If you're already running Google Shopping Ads, you likely have one — if not, create one now. In Google Merchant Center, register your business information such as your business display name and address (Google Merchant Center).

Step 3: Link Google Merchant Center with Your Business Profile

Link your Business Profile from the Linked Accounts section in Google Merchant Center. If you plan to use Google Local Inventory Ads, you'll also need to link your Google Ads account.

Step 4: Configure Local Inventory in Shopify's Google Channel

If you haven't set up the Google channel in Shopify yet, you'll need to complete the initial setup first — connect your Google account and link it to your Google Merchant Center account.

Once that's done, you'll find a "Local Inventory" setting option. Start the setup there to connect with your Google Business Profile.

Once Shopify and Google Local Inventory are connected and data is synced, your inventory will be reflected on Google Shopping and Google Maps.

Google Local Inventory Ads

To use Google Local Inventory Ads, simply check the "Local products" option when setting up your Google Shopping Ads campaign — that's all you need to do.

Maximizing Google Ads Performance with StoreHero

StoreHero supports merchants on Shopify who are looking to boost sales through the thorough execution of growth initiatives.

For Google Ads, we leverage the StoreHero growth platform to automatically generate feed data based on per-product and SKU performance and inventory data, as well as audience data derived from customer purchase history and attributes. This enables the kind of highly granular campaign management that's impossible to achieve manually, and supports continuous growth through the large-scale execution of initiatives. We're currently offering a free store diagnostic.

If you have challenges with Google Ads or growth strategy in general, please feel free to contact us. Learn more about our free store diagnostic here

Summary

We've walked through how to connect Shopify with Google Local Inventory. The fact that the previously cumbersome feed integration can now be implemented natively within Shopify — as long as you're using Shopify POS — is a significant development. We hope you'll take advantage of it as a valuable growth opportunity.

We've also written other articles related to Google Ads, so feel free to check them out if you're interested.