You’re in the process of creating a Google Merchant Center account and realise that you don’t have a refund policy. Your company does not allow refunds. What should you do next?
Correct Answer
Make sure you clearly state your refund policy on the landing page. It’s acceptable that you don’t allow returns or refunds, but you must state this clearly. Consider adding the return and refund policy to the footer of the website so it’s readily available.
Key takeaways
Refunds are not required; clear disclosure of your policy is.
A no-refunds policy is acceptable when plainly stated.
The requirement protects shoppers from surprise, not from your terms.
Why is this the correct answer?
Google does not require merchants to offer refunds. What it requires is that the policy, whatever it is, is clearly stated and easy to find on the site. A no-refunds policy is acceptable provided it is disclosed plainly, because the requirement exists to protect the shopper from surprise rather than to dictate commercial terms.
Why are the other options wrong?
In order to run on Shopping ads, you’ll need to offer refunds and clearly state on the policy to the footer of the website so it’s readily available. Both of these things are requirements.
Offering refunds is not a condition of running Shopping ads. Disclosure is the requirement, not the policy itself.
Ensure there is a disclaimer on the site. Whether a business offers refunds or not, it’s not obligated to have the policy on the website landing page as long as there’s a disclaimer.
A vague disclaimer is not enough. The actual policy has to be clearly stated and findable.
Don’t do anything. Refund policy is required to appear on the footer of the website landing page for businesses that offer a refund; otherwise, it’s not a violation to exclude it.
Doing nothing fails the requirement. An undisclosed policy is exactly what causes the problem, wherever it would sit on the page.
Frequently asked questions about this topic
Where should the refund policy live on the site?
Somewhere a shopper can find before buying — typically a linked policy page reachable from the footer and from the checkout. The test is whether someone could reasonably find it before committing, not whether it exists somewhere on the domain.
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.
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