Problem with Metadata-Attributes being translated in Google Merchant Center

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Topic summary

A user is experiencing errors in Google Merchant Center because product metadata attributes (Gender and Age Group) are being automatically translated from English, causing GMC to reject the feed since it expects these values in English.

Key clarifications provided:

  • Google Merchant Center actually accepts predefined values like age group and gender in either the local language or English, depending on the target market
  • For German-language targeting, both “erwachsene” and “adult” are valid values
  • The issue only arises when targeting countries in English while using translated values

Suggested solutions:

  • Ensure Gender and Age Group attributes remain in English in the product feed, regardless of store language
  • Use standardized Shopify values: ‘male’, ‘female’, ‘unisex’ for Gender
  • For multi-country targeting, consider specialized feed management apps like “Multiple Google Shopping Feeds” or AdNabu to customize feeds per market

The discussion remains open with no confirmation of which solution the original poster implemented.

Summarized with AI on November 1. AI used: claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929.
1

Hi there,

Some of Product Metadata-Attributes (Gender and Age Group) are being translated (I don’t know really how/why) and when the Product feed is consumed by Google Merchant Center it gives me an error because GMC expects all Metadata-Attributes in English.

How can I prevent those Metadata-Attributes from being translated?

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2

Predefined values, such as age group and gender can be either in the local laguage or in English.

So in your case erwachene or adult are both valid values if you are targeting the german language.

However, if you are targeting a country in english, yes, this needs to change.

If you are targeting multiple countries, which I don’t know if you are, but then I recommend using a different app such as: https://apps.shopify.com/multiple-google-shopping-feeds

1 Like
3

To prevent metadata attributes like “Gender” and “Age Group” from being translated in your product feed:

  • Ensure that the “Gender” and “Age Group” attributes in your product feed are in English, regardless of the store’s default language.
  • The supported values for Gender in Shopify are ‘male’, ‘female’, and ‘unisex’.
  • Consider using apps like AdNabu to manage and customize your product feeds for different markets.