42feeds
    Back to Error Guides
    Error
    Field: availability

    Missing Availability Status in Google Shopping Feed

    Your product feed is missing the required 'availability' field. This tells customers whether they can actually buy your product.

    Use our free Feed Validator to check for this and other errors automatically.

    What This Error Means

    The availability field indicates whether your product is currently in stock and available for purchase. It's a required field for all Google Shopping products.

    Without availability information, Google cannot accurately represent your product to shoppers. Products with missing availability may be rejected or have limited visibility.

    Accurate availability is crucial for customer experience. Advertising products as available when they're actually out of stock leads to poor user experience and potential policy violations. Shifting your mental model to view these as system signals can help build more resilient pipelines.

    How to Fix It

    1. Use one of the accepted values — Google only accepts:in_stock, out_of_stock, preorder, or backorder.
    2. Keep it accurate and updated — Your feed should reflect real-time or near-real-time inventory status.
    3. Match your landing page — The availability in your feed must match what's shown on your product page.
    4. Consider automatic updates — Set up scheduled feed updates to keep availability current.

    Tip: You can use transformation rules to map custom stock statuses or quantities to Google's required availability values.

    Examples

    Incorrect
    <item>
  <g:id>SKU-12345</g:id>
  <title>Blue Running Shoes</title>
  <g:price>79.99 USD</g:price>
  <!-- Missing availability field! -->
</item>

<!-- Also incorrect: -->
<g:availability>available</g:availability>
<g:availability>yes</g:availability>
<g:availability>In Stock</g:availability>
    Correct
    <item>
  <g:id>SKU-12345</g:id>
  <title>Blue Running Shoes</title>
  <g:price>79.99 USD</g:price>
  <g:availability>in_stock</g:availability>
</item>

<!-- Other valid values: -->
<g:availability>out_of_stock</g:availability>
<g:availability>preorder</g:availability>
<g:availability>backorder</g:availability>

    Additional Tips

    • Use preorder for products not yet released but available to order
    • Use backorder for temporarily out-of-stock items that can still be ordered
    • If using preorder or backorder, also include the availability_date field
    • Consider pausing ads for out-of-stock items rather than showing "out of stock"
    • Update availability at least once daily if your inventory changes frequently

    Related Issues

    Invalid Availability ValueMissing PriceMissing Link

    Validate Your Feed Now

    Use our free Google Shopping Feed Validator to check for this and other common errors before uploading to Merchant Center.

    Open Feed Validator