An email lands in your inbox mentioning the Content API for Shopping, a sunset date and something called the Merchant API. Or your developer pastes a warning into Slack. You’re not sure whether your product data is about to stop flowing into Merchant Center. Fair question, and the answer depends on how your store talks to Google.
Mostly yes. The Google Merchant API is the redesigned successor to the Content API for Shopping. Merchant API v1 is described as the official successor and became generally available in July 2025[4]. The Content API for Shopping officially reached its sunset on 18 August 2026, but it is not fully switched off, because the full shutdown is early 2027 and timing may change[1]. If you run custom code against the old API, you need to migrate. If you reach Merchant Center through an e-commerce platform, your platform partner manages the migration on your behalf[1][2].
What the Google Merchant API actually is
Google describes the Merchant API as a redesign of the Content API for Shopping, made up of multiple sub-APIs[3]. An API is the doorway that software uses to send data into Merchant Center and pull data out, and the Merchant API is the new doorway. Store owners who use an e-commerce platform do not manage that doorway themselves, because the platform partner manages the migration[1][2].
Where the Content API sunset stands
Here’s the timeline, as Google’s deprecation page states it. The page was last updated on 10 September 2026, so check it again before you plan around any of these dates.
- 18 August 2026: the Content API for Shopping officially reached its sunset[1].
- From 1 September 2026: requests made without an active extension begin to fail intermittently with an HTTP 410 Gone response[1].
- Early 2027: full shutdown. Google notes that timing may change[1].
Two things worth noticing. First, according to the page, the old API is not fully switched off until early 2027, so saying it is already switched off would be wrong. Second, intermittent failures mean an integration that still uses the old API can be interrupted, and extensions don’t stretch past the final decommissioning in early 2027[1].
The Merchant API’s beta version, v1beta, was also discontinued in May 2026. Calls must go to v1 or v1alpha[4]. If a developer built against the beta, that’s a separate thing to check.
Do you need to act? Sort yourself into one of three groups
You use Shopify or WooCommerce through a plugin or app
Google’s guidance is that if you access Merchant Center through an e-commerce platform, your platform partner manages the migration on your behalf[1][2]. The migration is the platform partner’s job rather than yours. This guide cannot say whether any specific plugin has already migrated, because only its maker can confirm that. Check the plugin’s changelog or ask its support team directly.
Tip
Ask your plugin or app provider where they stand on the migration. If you need to reconnect your store, our guides for Shopify at https://oxfordimpulse.com/connect-google-merchant-center-to-shopify/ and for WooCommerce at https://oxfordimpulse.com/connect-google-merchant-center-to-woocommerce/ cover the steps.
You upload a feed file or use a scheduled fetch
A feed file is a spreadsheet or XML file of your products that you upload in Merchant Center. The Content API sunset applies to integrations that call the Content API for Shopping[1]. If your store connects through an e-commerce platform, your platform partner manages the migration[1][2]. If you are unsure how your store connects, ask the platform or developer who set it up. It’s worth confirming that nothing else in your stack, such as a feed management tool, pushes data through the API for you. If you’re unsure how your feed is set up, our beginner’s guide at https://oxfordimpulse.com/beginners-guide-google-merchant-center-feed/ explains the options.
You have custom code, an agency build or a feed tool with API access
This is the group that must act. Google says developers should migrate existing integrations as soon as feasible[1]. Start by finding every place your code or tools call the old API. Look for requests to the Content API endpoint and check any scripts that sync stock or prices.
What changes for developers
Google’s migration guide lists the differences[2]. They include:
- Endpoint: requests go to https://merchantapi.googleapis.com/[2].
- Name field: resources now carry a name field[2].
- Product IDs: the delimiter changes from a colon to a tilde[2]. Any code that builds or parses IDs by splitting on a colon needs to change.
- Prices: price becomes amountMicros[2]. Micros means millionths of a unit, so a price of 10 is 10,000,000. Check your rounding.
- Batching: customBatch isn’t supported[2]. If your sync relies on it, you’ll need to change how updates are sent.
- Page size: the page size rises from 250 to 1,000[2]. That helps with large catalogues, but check any pagination logic that assumed 250.
- New features: the Reviews API and push notifications exist only in the Merchant API[2].
Watch out
Don’t treat the migration as a find-and-replace on the endpoint. The ID delimiter and the price format change the data itself. Test with a handful of products first and compare what appears in Merchant Center against your source.
For ongoing changes after you’ve moved, the Merchant API latest updates page is the place to look[4].
How to check what you’re running
Start by asking whoever built your store connection how products reach Merchant Center: plugin, feed file or custom code. If it’s custom, search your codebase and scheduled jobs for the old API endpoint, then check your logs for HTTP 410 responses, which are a sign the sunset is affecting you[1]. Read the migration guide against what you find[2] and plan the changes in a test environment.
Whatever your setup, the first job is to find out how your products reach Merchant Center and write the answer down. For more on how the account fits together, see https://oxfordimpulse.com/google-merchant-center/ and, if you’d like help working it out, Oxford Impulse can take a look.
FAQs
What is the Google Merchant API?
It’s a redesign of the Content API for Shopping, built from several sub-APIs[3]. Software uses it to manage products, accounts and other data in Merchant Center.
Has the Merchant API replaced the Content API for Shopping?
When does the Content API for Shopping shut down?
What does HTTP 410 Gone mean here?
It means the resource you requested is no longer available at that address. Google says requests without an active extension begin intermittently failing with this response from 1 September 2026[1]. If you see it in your logs, you have an integration to migrate.
Do Shopify and WooCommerce store owners need to migrate?
Will an existing integration keep working without changes?
Not reliably. Requests without an active extension start failing intermittently from 1 September 2026[1]. Plan the migration rather than waiting for errors.
Can you extend the deadline?
Extensions exist, but they don’t run past the final decommissioning in early 2027[1]. That makes them a delay rather than a fix.
What is the Merchant API endpoint?
It is the new address your code sends requests to, shown in the developer list above[2]. Resources also gain a name field, so update your data models too.
What is the difference between v1 and v1beta?
Does a feed file upload need to change?
Sources
- Google for Developers: Deprecation and sunset (Content API for Shopping) developers.google.com
- Google for Developers: Migrate from Content API for Shopping to Merchant API developers.google.com
- Google for Developers: Overview of Merchant API developers.google.com
- Google for Developers: Latest updates (Merchant API) developers.google.com
