Merchant Center Next Expands Local Inventory for Service-Forward Retailers
Merchant Center Next brought local-inventory ads to more retail formats, letting stores show in-stock products to nearby shoppers.
Google broadened local inventory surfaces inside Merchant Center Next in November 2025, making 'nearby store has it' ads available to more retailers and tightening the link between product feeds and foot traffic.
What you need to know
The update in four points:
- Local inventory ads surface store-level stock on Google surfaces
- Requires accurate per-store feeds and stock sync
- LIA only converts when stock data is live and correct
- Best used alongside store-visit measurement
What this means for advertisers
For Indian retail with accurate multi-store stock, LIA turns product intent into real footfall. The catch remains operational: a feed that lies about stock kills ad efficiency and store trust equally.
Next step
Only enable LIA when your stock feed reflects reality at store level (hours of latency tolerated, not days). Start with your two cleanest stores as a pilot.
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