Execution tip · Oct 2026

How to Set Black Friday & Cyber Monday 2026 Sale Prices in Google Merchant Center for Shopify (sale_price, Promotions & the EU 30-Day Rule)

By the LEVERAFE LAB team · ~6 min read · 閱讀繁體中文版 →

Black Friday falls on Friday, November 27, 2026 and Cyber Monday on Monday, November 30. For Shopify brands advertising in the US, Canada, UK and EU, the costliest mistake that week is usually a Shopping feed with the wrong price, no strikethrough, or disapproved products just as CPCs peak. Here’s how we set up sale pricing in Google Merchant Center so it gets approved, shows the discount and holds up under European rules.

1. Send the regular price and the sale price separately

When you submit sale_price, keep submitting the full price in price. The sale price must be lower, match the landing page and checkout, and the landing page should show both prices while checkout shows only the sale price. Otherwise Google disapproves the product^[1].

On Shopify, that means using the native fields: put the original price in Compare-at price and the sale price in Price, with compare-at higher than price^[5]. With Automatic Product Sync turned on in the Google & YouTube app, Google picks up the new pricing within 24 hours^[4]. Theme- or script-only discounts that bypass these fields are a classic cause of price mismatches.

2. Schedule it, and get the time zone right

If you run a feed app or a supplemental feed, add sale_price_effective_date. Without it, the sale price applies immediately^[1]. The format is an ISO 8601 start and end, separated by a slash. If you leave out the time, the sale runs from midnight on the start date to 11:59 PM on the end date. If you leave out the time zone, Google defaults to UTC^[2], which can shift a US sale by five hours or more.

US Eastern: 2026-11-27T00:00-0500/2026-11-30T23:59-0500
UK / Central Europe: use +0000 (GMT) / +0100 (CET) instead

Using only Shopify’s compare-at price? Then timing follows your admin edits, and Google can lag up to 24 hours^[4]. Turn on automatic item updates, which use your product pages’ structured data to keep prices current^[11].

3. Know when Google will show the sale badge (US vs UK/EU)

A valid sale price doesn’t guarantee a strikethrough. For Shopping ads, the discount must be more than 5% and less than 90%, and the regular price needs a track record^[3]:

United States: the base price was charged on 5 days in the past 30, or 15 days in the past 200, whichever comes first.
Canada, UK, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain (and other listed countries): the base price was valid on 30 days within the past 200.

Minimum days at base price for a Shopping ads sale annotation

5 days

CA / UK / EU*

30 days

US: 5 days in the past 30 (or 15 in 200). *Listed countries incl. FR, DE, IT, NL, ES: 30 days in the past 200. Even when you qualify, Google doesn’t guarantee the annotation. ^[3]

So don’t raise “regular” prices in November to inflate the discount. Google won’t reward it, and in Europe the law is written to stop it.

4. EU: the 30-day “prior price” rule

Since May 28, 2022, Article 6a of the Price Indication Directive (added by the Omnibus Directive 2019/2161) has required that any announced price reduction show the prior price. That is the lowest price you charged in at least the 30 days before the reduction, including earlier promotional prices^[8]. In September 2024 the EU Court of Justice confirmed that a percentage discount must be calculated from that lowest price, not just shown beside it^[9].

For a sale starting November 27, the window goes back to October 28, so any Halloween or “early access” discount since then becomes your reference price. In EU markets, set compare-at to that lowest price and calculate every “−30%” badge from it. Member States may set different rules for perishables, new products and progressive reductions^[8].

5. UK: not Omnibus, but “was” prices are being watched

The UK doesn’t apply Article 6a, but the CMA’s 2024 principles say a “was” price should run on the same website immediately before the discount, for at least as long as the discount, with at least one sale at the “was” price for every two at the discount. They were written for mattress sellers, but the CMA will consider them in other sectors too^[10].

6. Merchant Center promotions: submit a week early

Shopify discounts can be published to Google from Discounts › Sales channels › Manage^[4]. Amount- and percentage-off codes, collection discounts and automatic discounts (US only) can connect; free shipping, Buy X Get Y and promotions without an end date can’t, and nothing syncs if the account has no active US offers^[4]. Don’t submit a straight price cut as a promotion; that’s what sale_price is for^[3].

Review usually takes up to 24 hours, sometimes 72. Google recommends submitting at least 24 hours ahead, on weekdays^[6], with product mapping complete 24 hours before launch^[7]. With Thanksgiving on November 26, we aim to have every BFCM promotion submitted by Friday, November 20.

Practical takeaway

Freeze base prices now (US: 5 of the past 30 days; CA/UK/EU: 30 of the past 200).
EU: for a November 27 start, compare-at = your lowest price since October 28, and calculate the percentage from it.
Use Compare-at + Price in Shopify (or sale_price + a dated, time-zoned effective date) and check feed = landing page = checkout.
Submit Merchant Center promotions by November 20 and test every code at checkout.

Want us to check your Shopping feed and sale setup before Black Friday? We help Shopify brands selling into North America and Europe get feeds, promotions and pricing claims peak-ready. Email us at ypeasystore@gmail.com or use our contact page.