Google product taxonomy · 2021-09-21
Retail
The Google product category ID for Retail is 138. It sits under Business & Industrial and has 8 subcategories of its own, so it is a predefined value you can send as it stands — but one of those 8 is usually the closer answer, and an interior category fits when a product genuinely spans the ones below.
- Category ID
- 138
- Direct subcategories
- 8
- Categories below it in total
- 20
- Depth, on a branch that runs 5
- 2 / 5
- Others at this level
- 24
- Parent category
- Business & Industrial
- Taxonomy version
- 2021-09-21
- Sent in your feed as
- google_product_category
Where this sits in the taxonomy
Measured by how much sits beneath them, Retail is fourth largest of the 25 categories under Business & Industrial, with 20 categories below it. Size is not correctness — a small category is the right answer when it is the right answer — but it does tell you how much of the taxonomy you are still choosing between once you pick this branch.
RetailMoney HandlingCash Register & POS Terminal AccessoriesCash Drawers & Trays
The longest route down from here runs 3 more levels, ending at Cash Drawers & Trays (4283) on level 5: Retail › Money Handling › Cash Register & POS Terminal Accessories › Cash Drawers & Trays. Most branches stop sooner than that — the figure to compare it against is the seven levels Google's taxonomy allows, not the depth of the branch next door.
| Category | ID | Direct | Below | Levels |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agriculture | 112 | 1 | 10 | 3 |
| Construction | 114 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Food Service | 135 | 17 | 22 | 2 |
| Retail — this page | 138 | 8 | 20 | 3 |
| Signage | 976 | 13 | 15 | 2 |
| Manufacturing | 1470 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Hotel & Hospitality | 1475 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Law Enforcement | 1556 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Science & Laboratory | 1624 | 6 | 33 | 3 |
| Heavy Machinery | 1795 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Finance & Insurance | 1813 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Forestry & Logging | 1827 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Work Safety Protective Gear | 2047 | 12 | 16 | 2 |
| Film & Television | 2155 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mining & Quarrying | 2187 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Medical | 2496 | 11 | 41 | 3 |
| Piercing & Tattooing | 4285 | 2 | 7 | 2 |
| Industrial Storage | 5830 | 4 | 4 | 1 |
| Advertising & Marketing | 5863 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| Material Handling | 6987 | 3 | 8 | 2 |
| Hairdressing & Cosmetology | 7240 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| Automation Control Components | 7261 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Dentistry | 7497 | 3 | 8 | 2 |
| Industrial Storage Accessories | 8025 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Janitorial Carts & Caddies | 500086 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Using this value
Either form of this value goes in the google_product_category attribute: the numeric ID (138) or the full path ("Business & Industrial > Retail"). Both are predefined values for the same category. The ID is the sturdier of the two, because renaming any segment above this one changes the path text and leaves the number alone. Before sending it, check whether one of the 8 subcategories below fits — a narrower category groups the product with fewer, closer things.
Bear in mind that google_product_category is an optional attribute. Google assigns a category automatically, and your value is treated as a signal rather than an override. When an override actually applies.
In your feed, it looks like this
Either row below is accepted. The first is the one to send.
| id | title | google_product_category |
|---|---|---|
| SKU-1001 | Your product title | 138 |
| SKU-1001 | Your product title | Business & Industrial > Retail |
This path has no comma, so an unquoted cell holds it as it stands — which is not true of every category in the taxonomy. The numeric ID, 138, is the form that does not depend on how the file is quoted.
What sits under Retail
8 subcategories. A narrower category groups the product with fewer, closer things, so prefer one of these when it fits.
They are not the same size. Money Handling (4181) is the largest with 12 categories beneath it, so most of what sits under Retail sits under that one name. 1 of the 8 carry subcategories of their own and the remaining 7 are leaves, which is worth knowing before you go looking for a narrower value that is not there.
Questions about Retail
What is the Google product category ID for Retail?
138. The full path, "Business & Industrial > Retail", is the same category written the other way. The ID is shorter, and renaming a segment above this one changes the path text while leaving the number alone.
Should I use Retail or one of its subcategories?
Prefer a subcategory when one fits: Retail has 8 directly below it, starting with Clothing Display Racks (4244), Display Mannequins (3803), Mannequin Parts (7128), and 20 in total further down. 138 is itself a predefined value, so an interior category is not an error — it just groups the product more broadly than a subcategory would.
Where does Retail sit in the taxonomy?
At level 2, under Business & Industrial (111). The chain from the top is Business & Industrial → Retail. If your product does not belong under Business & Industrial, it does not belong here either — check the level above before going deeper.
What should I use if Retail is not quite right?
Look across the rest of Business & Industrial first — there are 24 other categories at this level: Advertising & Marketing (5863), Agriculture (112), Automation Control Components (7261), Construction (114), Dentistry (7497), Film & Television (2155), and 18 more. If none of them fits either, the problem is higher up: go back to Business & Industrial (111) and pick a different branch from there rather than settling for the closest thing on this one.
How much more specific can I get than Retail?
3 levels more. The longest route down from Retail is Retail > Money Handling > Cash Register & POS Terminal Accessories > Cash Drawers & Trays, ending at Cash Drawers & Trays (4283) on level 5. Not every branch below Retail runs that far, so the category that fits your product may stop earlier than this one does.
How big is Retail compared with the categories next to it?
It is fourth largest of the 25 at its level, carrying 20 categories below it. Inside it, Money Handling (4181) is the biggest branch with 12 beneath it. A bigger category is not a better one — it just means more of the taxonomy is still open below you after you pick it.
Not sure this is the one?
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