Starting July 11, 2017, Sears will start requiring UPCs or GTINs for most products.
This is following Google Shopping, which made GTINs a requirement on May 16th, 2016.
UPCs will be a required field for items listed in a set of categories. Exceptions to this requirement are items that fall under the following three divisions.
Brand Exception – private labels, or seller-manufactured items that may not be registered with GS1. Approval is required.
Collectibles – items such as an autographed baseball hat or unique vintage items.
Seller Customized Bundles – items that are bundled by Sellers.
According to Sears:
“UPC will enable us to enhance the Sears marketplace into a well-organized selection of items across categories. This will help increase sales through the introduction of several new features, such as:
Present members with the most relevant items in response to their search
Digital advertising of your listings without any extra cost to you”
Brian Roizen is the Cofounder and Chief Architect of Feedonomics, a full-service feed optimization platform that optimizes product data for hundreds of channels. He has been featured on numerous podcasts and eCommerce webinars, and regularly contributes to Search Engine Land and other industry-leading blogs. Brian graduated summa cum laude from UCLA with both a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering.
