For which business are Local Inventory ads ideal?
Correct Answer
Flowers by Beth, a floral shop that just opened a brick-and-mortar location
Key takeaways
Local inventory ads suit businesses with physical stock in a physical store.
They work best where nearby availability influences the purchase decision.
Made-to-order, digital and appointment-only businesses are poor fits.
Why is this the correct answer?
Local inventory ads need two things to make sense: physical stock sitting in a physical shop, and a shopper nearby who could come and collect it. A florist with a new bricks-and-mortar location has both, and flowers are exactly the kind of purchase where proximity and immediate availability decide the sale. The other businesses each fail one of those tests — made-to-order goods have no shelf stock, downloadable software has no physical product at all, and an appointment-only gallery is not somewhere a shopper walks in to buy a listed item.
Why are the other options wrong?
Noah’s Designs, a made-to-order custom furniture shop with an online storefront
Made-to-order furniture is built after the order is placed, so there is no in-store stock to advertise as available now.
QuikFixx, a start-up selling downloadable software to remove computer viruses
Downloadable software is not a physical product and has no store location, so there is no local inventory to surface.
TheArtSpace, a gallery that hosts potential customers by appointment
A gallery seen by appointment is not set up for walk-in purchase of listed items, which is the behaviour local inventory ads are designed to drive.
Frequently asked questions about this topic
What does a shop need before running local inventory ads?
A Merchant Center account with the local inventory programme enabled, a linked Business Profile so Google knows the store locations, and a local product inventory feed reporting availability per store. The operational challenge is keeping that stock data accurate, since an advertised item that is not on the shelf is worse than no ad.
Topics in this question
About the Shopping Ads Certification
The Shopping Ads Certification checks that you can run retail campaigns end to end: product data in Merchant Center, linking it to Google Ads, and choosing between Standard Shopping and Performance Max to drive sales and value.
Exam guide and all 407 Google Ads Shopping questions →Related Google Ads Shopping questions
- 1Local Inventory Ads allow retailers to promote their in-store inventory and drive shoppers to their brick-and-mortar stores.
- 2Lance has been running Local Inventory ads to promote his antique toy shop. He’s considering running additional ad campaigns with Google. What’s an easy next step Lance can take to expand his brand’s reach?
- 3OfficePlus is a well-established business that’s been running print ads for their office supply store for years. You’re asked to present Local Catalog ads as a potential solution for their consideration. What’s one way Local Catalog ads would benefit OfficePlus?
- 4Today, customers demand more from store owners with virtual storefronts. They want to know that the products they’re looking for are in-stock before they make a trip to a physical location. How can Google Shopping’s Local Inventory Ads help store owners meet this demand?
- 5A single branch of Simpson Shoes has been operating since 1917. A new marketing team member suggested they look into Local Inventory ads. The owner, Bert Simpson, is concerned about where potential customers might see the ad. Where would the Simpson Shoes Local Inventory ad appear?
- 6Office King is a well-established business that’s been running print ads for their office-supply store for years. Their CEO, Xin, is exploring the possibility of expanding into online advertising. He asks you to provide a comparison of traditional print ads and Local Catalog ads. What’s one distinguishing feature of Local Catalog ads?