Google Shopping strategies for more revenue, in your inbox

Every other week: what is changing in Google Shopping, what we see in our customers' accounts, and what to do about it.

Demand is there. Whether it pays off depends on three things: what each click costs you, whether your product data answers the buyer's questions, and whether your mobile pages let them order.

Shoppers click more often, even though they see fewer ads

Google's Home & Garden trends report for the UK covers 1–31 July 2026. Compared with July 2025, Shopping impressions fell by 5% while clicks rose by 20%.

Shopping metric	July 2026 vs July 2025
Total clicks	Up 20%
Total impressions	Down 5%
Mobile clicks	Up 22%
Mobile share of clicks	85%

Source: Google internal data, Home & Garden — UK — Vertical Trends, July 2026, pages 6–8.

More clicks from fewer impressions means an aggregate click-through rate about 26% higher, calculated from the report's rounded figures. That measures engagement, not sales, so judge your own range on orders and margin.

Do this first: pull your own July figures per product group, for example furniture, garden tools and home accessories. Compare them with the category trend before you move any budget.

Without your own CSS, part of every bid never reaches the auction

In the UK, every Shopping ad runs through a Comparison Shopping Service (CSS). If you have not chosen one, Google Shopping acts as your CSS and deducts a margin from each bid before the auction: of a £1 bid, only 80p is used.

Through a certified CSS, the full bid enters the auction. You pay 20% less per click at the same position, or bid with 25% more at the same budget.

A CSS does not buy reserved positions: all CSSs compete in the same auction. Your Google Ads account, campaigns and bid strategies stay as they are; only your Merchant Center is linked to the new CSS.

Check the saving on your own numbers

Total cost: monthly media spend plus the CSS fee.
Result: orders, revenue and contribution margin after delivery costs and returns.
Fair comparison: equal periods with similar promotions, prices and stock, never a quiet month against a sale.

Your mobile product page decides whether the extra clicks pay off

In July, phones generated 85% of Shopping clicks and 83% of impressions. Mobile clicks grew by 22% year on year, against 12% on computers (Google report, pages 7–8).

Home & Garden products are bought on dimensions, materials and delivery. If a shopper on a phone cannot find these within seconds, a cheaper click still ends in a bounce.

Test your best sellers on a phone

1Dimensions and capacity: table size, number of seats, wardrobe width and height, visible without scrolling.
2What is included: cushions, covers, fixings or assembly, stated clearly on the product page.
3Delivery for bulky items: cost, lead time and delivery options shown before checkout, ideally right after a postcode check.
4Variants: colour, size and material selectable without losing the choice on reload.
5Checkout: one complete test order on a phone, including postcode entry and payment.

Complete product data puts the right item in front of detailed searches

Shoppers in this category search with detail: size, material, colour. Google can only match those searches when the attributes are in your feed.

Dimensions: size, plus product_length, product_width and product_height for furniture and garden items.
Material and colour: material, color and pattern for every variant.
Delivery: shipping_weight or shipping_label, so oversized items carry the right delivery costs in Merchant Center.
Availability: keep availability current, so sold-out seasonal stock stops attracting paid clicks.
Images in use: lifestyle_image_link to show a sofa in a living room or a parasol on a patio.

Then group products with custom labels by margin, season and stock position. A clearance item does not need the same return target as a well-stocked best seller with a strong margin.

Use the weeks before November to test changes cleanly

Over four years, November was the recurring peak for both category clicks and CPCs (Google report, page 13). That is a historical pattern for the category, not a forecast for every subcategory.

Changes made during the peak are hard to measure, because promotions, prices and stock all move at once. Test in the quieter weeks before it.

1September: record a baseline per product group: clicks, CPC, orders, revenue and margin.
2Early October: fix disapproved products and missing attributes, and review the mobile pages of your best sellers.
3October: make any CSS change and compare equal periods before demand builds.
4November: raise budgets on products with proven margin and enough stock, not across the whole catalogue.

Choose a CSS partner by the work you need done

CSS providers bundle different services: self-service access, feed support, tools or campaign management. Ask these questions before you decide:

What do I pay per month, and is it a flat fee per shop or a share of my spend?
Do my Google Ads account, campaigns and bid strategies stay unchanged?
Does the service cover the countries and surfaces I use, including free listings?
Who helps me with disapproved products, and which services cost extra?

With csspartner.io you keep your campaigns; only your Merchant Center is linked to our CSS. Product Health explains Google's disapprovals in plain language, and the Fix Center suggests corrections that you approve.

You get a 30-day free trial, no setup fee and a monthly notice period. Campaign management is not included in the subscription.

Your next step: start with your best sellers

1Measure: pull clicks, CPC, orders and margin for your best-selling products.
2Check: test their mobile pages and feed attributes against the lists above.
3Calculate: work out what 20% lower CPCs would mean for those products at your current spend.
4Decide: choose your CSS before the November peak, while there is still time to compare results.