Content API for Shopping sunset: the dates, the 410 errors and what to do

The dates

Google says the decommissioning date may move depending on how far migration has progressed, and asks developers to check its deprecation page. Treat early 2027 as the plan, not a promise of more time.

A 410 that succeeds on retry is a countdown, not a glitch.

What the 410 error looks like

A request rejected by the phase-out returns HTTP 410 with a status of ABORTED. The detail that identifies it is the error reason:

"reason": "content_api_sunset",
"domain": "shoppingcontent.googleapis.com"

The metadata carries the Google Cloud project ID and number that made the call, which is how to find the integration responsible when several run under one account. Three more points from Google’s page:

• These errors do not count against the project’s API quota.
• Because only some requests fail, a retry may succeed. Google says that is not a long-term fix, because the share of failures rises until all requests fail.
• A sync that retries quietly can look healthy while products go stale. If your feed tool logs errors, search those logs for content_api_sunset.

Who has to act

Google splits the people affected in two:

• Custom API integrations. Internal tools, scripts or software that call the Content API directly have to be changed to call the Merchant API.
• Third-party platforms. If you reach Merchant Center through an ecommerce platform, the platform migrates on your behalf and you have nothing to do.

Google’s list is about code that calls the API. A feed file that Merchant Center fetches on a schedule, or a linked Google Sheet, is not an API call, and the notice does not name either. If you are not sure which you have, the feed format guide describes each input method, and a feed management tool that syncs by API should have published its own migration status.

Asking for an extension

Google offers an extension form that exempts a Google Cloud project from the intermittent errors for a while. Three details from its help pages save a second submission:

• The form asks for Google Cloud project IDs, not project names or project numbers.
• Several projects go in one submission, separated by commas.
• The most recent submission sets the expiry.

An extension buys time for the migration, not an exemption from it. Google says extensions do not run past the decommissioning in early 2027.

What changes in the Merchant API

The Merchant API is the replacement, split into sub-APIs with URLs of the form https://merchantapi.googleapis.com/{SUB_API}/{VERSION}/.... Changes that tend to catch a port off guard:

• Registration. The Google Cloud project is registered with Merchant Center through developerRegistration:registerGcp.
• Prices. A price is amountMicros plus currencyCode, so 18.00 USD is sent as 18000000 micros.
• No customBatch. The Merchant API has no equivalent method, so code built around batched calls has to be restructured.
• Supplemental data. The Merchant API supports supplemental data sources, so a field such as google_product_category can be maintained apart from the primary product input.

That last point is a chance to simplify. A category override no longer has to be written into every product insert; it can live in its own source, as the supplemental feed guide describes.