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“Insufficient contact information” in Google Merchant Center: where Shopify stores lose their contact details and how to fix them

Checked against Google Merchant Center Help on October 28, 2026 · By the Unflagged team · Not affiliated with Google

Short answer. “Insufficient contact information” is an account-level issue: shoppers can't find a clear way to contact you, or the details on your store contradict your Merchant Center account. Depending on the account, products show with limited visibility, get disapproved, or the account is suspended. On Shopify, three copies of your details drift apart: Store contact details, the theme footer and Merchant Center Business info. Make them identical first.

What you see in Merchant Center

What Google checks

Why it happens on Shopify

Among the documented public cases we reviewed, identity or contact inconsistency appears in all 7 reinstated cases that stated specific causes. In one, the fix was correcting an address typo that made the website and the Facebook page disagree. These are other merchants' reports, not our clients.

1. Three copies of your details that drift apart

Shopify keeps your address and phone in Settings → General → Store contact details and your legal name in Settings → General → Business details. The automated Contact information policy pulls from there; in many themes the footer doesn't, because it's text you typed. Merchant Center Business info is a third copy.

2. A form-only contact page whose messages go nowhere

The Shopify contact page is a page using the contact theme template, and customers only see it once it's in a menu. Messages go to the contact email set at the top of Settings → Notifications. If that inbox is old, the form reaches no one. Google accepts a form as one method, but in one documented case a store that added a form, policies and badges was still rejected.

3. A Gmail address, or a phone that doesn't look real

Merchant Center's customer service email should include your domain (14286818). Many Shopify stores still show a free webmail address as the store email. Documented cases also include a placeholder-looking phone number and a contact page with no domain email.

4. Ticking the Google & YouTube checkbox too early

The Shopify channel can't detect contact information on its own. You confirm it with a checkbox, and Shopify warns that confirming requirements you haven't met can get your Merchant Center account suspended (Set up the Google & YouTube channel).

5. An address Google can't tie to a real business

Home-based sellers often omit the address or use a virtual office. Google's Misrepresentation policy lists a false or virtual address shown as headquarters while you operate from an undisclosed region (6150127). In one documented case, the suggested problem was an address shared with another website.

Fix it step by step

  1. Decide one true set of facts: legal name, street address, phone, domain email, opening hours with time zone.

    Check: they match your registration documents, and every later step copies from this list.

  2. Enter them in Shopify under Store contact details and Business details, then review the Contact information policy in Settings → Policies.

    Check: /policies/contact-information shows the new values in incognito.

  3. Update the footer and contact page by hand, as text, and link both the contact page and the Contact information policy in the footer menu.

    Check: the home page source contains the address and email as text, and they show on mobile without starting checkout.

  4. Test every channel you list.

    Check: a form message from another device arrives, the phone rings, and email replies come from your domain.

  5. Update Merchant Center to match the site in Settings → Business info → Edit business details, and verify the phone (12472091).

    Check: values match character for character, the phone shows as verified, and the customer service URL opens your contact page.

  6. Align profiles off the site: Google Business Profile, Facebook, Instagram, review sites. Complete identity verification if asked.

    Check: every profile linked from your footer shows the same name, address and phone, and Needs attention shows no open verification request.

Before you request a review

Choose "I fixed the issue" or "I disagree with the issue" (Request a review of your issues). Disagree only if your details were already visible, verified and identical everywhere before the notice; you get one chance. If you changed anything above, you fixed it.

In a warning period you can request one courtesy review at any time. If issues remain after the second attempt, a cooldown may begin and may lengthen after each unsuccessful review; support can't shorten it. Google publishes no fixed number of attempts. Identity verification is often required first for misrepresentation suspensions (same page).

Before you click:

How attempts and cooldowns work: How to request a Merchant Center review without wasting your attempts.

When this isn't fixable (or not by us)

Not sure which case you're in? Start with the free eligibility check or the self-check.

Related

FAQ

I run my business from home. Do I have to put my home address on my store?

Not necessarily on the storefront: Google requires at least one visible contact method, and a phone, email, form or business social profile counts (12472091). Merchant Center still needs a verified business address, and whatever you show must be true and match. Don't substitute a virtual address presented as headquarters (6150127). Local law may require an address; check your country's rules.

Is one contact method really enough?

It meets Google's minimum on the store (12472091), but Google's Shopify page asks for name, address, phone and email (13693195). In the documented reinstatements we reviewed, merchants published full details, often with opening hours. If you can publish more, do.

Can I use a Gmail address?

Google doesn't ban it on the store. In Merchant Center's customer service field, Google asks for an email that includes your domain (14286818), which its review checklist also recommends (16497298). Use the same domain address in both places.

The Google & YouTube app can't confirm my contact information. What now?

The channel relies on your checkbox, not on reading your store (Shopify Help). Confirm a contact method is visible on the live store, logged out, then tick it; if it still fails, contact Shopify Support. Never tick it for details that aren't live.

Sources

Changelog