We set discount codes to be active to specific customers, but still Google advertises the code to everyone. Makes no sense. Terrible.
Topic summary
Shopify began automatically syncing all active discount codes to Google Merchant Center around October 2021, causing private/internal codes (employee discounts, VIP customer codes, etc.) to become publicly visible in Google Shopping results. This change was reportedly buried in Google app Terms & Conditions updates without clear communication or changelog entries.
Key Issues:
- Merchants discovered customers using private discount codes never intended for public use
- Codes appeared in Google Shopping with promotional badges, accessible to anyone
- No option exists in Shopify to designate codes as public vs. private
- The feature applies to US merchants using Shopify’s Google channel app
Current Workarounds:
- Manually disable individual promotions in Google Merchant Center (Marketing > Promotions)
- Disable the entire Promotions program in Merchant Center (Growth > Manage Programs)
- Disable “deals discovery” in Google Merchant Center integrations
- Use third-party apps instead of Shopify’s free Google app for more control
- Recent Shopify versions may include a checkbox on discount creation to control Google sharing
Merchant Requests:
Shoppers want Shopify to add native controls for:
- Public/private designation when creating discounts
- Sales channel selection for code visibility
- Product/collection exclusions
Shopify Support acknowledged this as a “known issue” but no comprehensive fix has been implemented as of the discussion timeline.
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