Item group ID [item_group_id]

Use the item group ID [item_group_id] attribute to group product variants in your product data. Variants are a group of similar items that only differ from one another by product details like size [size], color [color], material [material], pattern [pattern], age group [age_group], size type [size_type], and size system [size_system].

When you use an item group ID [item_group_id] to group your products, we recommend that your product and its variants are shown to customers as a group, instead of separately.

When to use

Format

Follow these formatting guidelines to make sure Google understands the data you're submitting.

For details on when and how to submit values in English, learn more about submitting your product data.

Guidelines

Follow these guidelines to make sure you submit high-quality data for your products.

Minimum requirements

These are the requirements you'll need to meet to show your product on Google. If you don't follow these requirements, we'll disapprove your product and let you know in the Diagnostics page of your Manufacturer Center account.

• Use the same value of item group ID for all variants of the same product. For example, a T-shirt comes in 9 variants: 3 sizes ("small", "medium", and "large") and 3 colors ("red", "blue", and "green"). Submit each variant as a separate product (for a total of 9 separate products), and submit the same value of item group ID [item_group_id] for each product to indicate that these are variants.
• Each distinct item group must have a unique value for item group ID.
  • Don’t rely on casing to make item group ID unique. For example, we interpret the item group ID [item_group_id] "abc123" and "ABC123" as the same product.
  • Each variant must differ from other variants in the item group. However, the brand attribute should be the same across variants.
• Submit a variant attribute along with item group ID. When submitting item group ID [item_group_id] , make sure that your variants use at least one of the variant attributes: color [color], size [size], material [material], etc.
• Use the same variant attributes for all products with the same item group ID. For example, if you submit a dress in 2 colors and 2 sizes, each product you submit must provide a value for the color [color] attribute and the size [size] attribute. Do not just provide the color or size for one dress, but not the others.

Best practices

These best practices can help you go beyond the basic requirements to optimize your product data for performance.

• Use the parent SKU as the item group ID [item_group_id] for all variants of the same product. Don't submit a parent SKU as a separate product. If you'd like to group variants using a parent SKU, use the parent SKU as the value for item group ID [item_group_id] for all products in the variant group.
• Don’t mix up item group ID [item_group_id] and ID [id] attributes. Use the ID attribute to uniquely identify a single product, and use the item group ID [item_group_id] attribute to group together several products as variants.
• Don’t submit item group ID [item_group_id] if your product is not a variant. If your product is similar to other products, but not specifically a variant, don’t submit item group ID [item_group_id]. Some examples of products that are not variants include assorted items (a suit consisting of a jacket and pants) or any other set of dissimilar items that are sold together (a set of bath accessories).
• Use a stable item group ID [item_group_id] for each group of product variants. Once you've assigned an item group ID [item_group_id] to a product, don't change it. If item group ID [item_group_id] changes often, it could cause inconsistency in the way variants are grouped and shown to users.
• Don’t use item group ID [item_group_id] for unsupported variants. If your product varies by an unsupported attribute (such as car make and model), or if your product is a build-to-order custom good with a large number of variants (more than 30), then don't use item group ID [item_group_id] to indicate your variants. Review best practices for unsupported variants.

Examples