Understanding the Missing Unit Pricing Measure Error in Google Listings & Ads

If you're using Google Listings & Ads (GLA) for WooCommerce and selling in countries like Germany or Austria, you've likely encountered a frustrating warning: "Missing potentially required value [unit pricing measure]" or similar messages about unit_pricing_base_measure. This error can prevent your products from being listed for free on Google.

This article explains why this error occurs and outlines the current situation and potential workarounds.

Why This Error Happens

In several European countries, consumer protection laws require that certain products display a "unit price" (like price per kilogram or price per liter) alongside the total product price. Google Merchant Center enforces this by making the unit_pricing_measure and unit_pricing_base_measure attributes mandatory for specific product categories in these regions.

The core issue is that the Google Listings & Ads extension, as confirmed in multiple support threads, does not currently have built-in support for syncing these specific unit pricing attributes to Google. Even if you have this information entered in WooCommerce using a plugin like WooCommerce Germanized, GLA does not map or send this data to Google Merchant Center.

Official Status and Acknowledged Limitations

Based on community support interactions, the "Google for WooCommerce" team has acknowledged this feature gap. They have stated that a request to add unit price support has been added to their ideas board for future consideration. However, there is no native solution within the plugin at this time.

Common Scenarios and Potential Solutions

Here are the most common situations users face and the approaches discussed in the community.

Scenario 1: You Use a Plugin like WooCommerce Germanized

If you use a plugin that already handles unit pricing for WooCommerce, the data exists on your site but isn't being synced. Some users have attempted to bridge this gap using custom code snippets. These snippets aim to hook into the GLA product data and inject the unit pricing information from the other plugin.

Important Note: This requires custom development. The code snippets shared in the community are often specific to a particular setup (e.g., WooCommerce Germanized) and may not work universally. Implementing custom code always carries a risk and should be done on a staging site first. There is no officially supported method for this.

Scenario 2: You Don't Have Unit Pricing Data Set Up

If your products don't have this information at all, you would first need to add it to your products. This can sometimes be done with custom fields via a plugin like Advanced Custom Fields (ACF). However, the same mapping limitation applies—even with the data in a custom field, GLA cannot currently send it to Google.

Troubleshooting Steps to Confirm the Issue

If you are unsure whether this is the root cause of your problem, you can perform some basic checks recommended in support threads:

1. Check for Conflicts: Temporarily switch your theme to a default theme like Storefront and deactivate all plugins except for WooCommerce and Google Listings & Ads. If the error persists, it confirms the issue is with the core GLA functionality and not a conflict with another plugin.
2. Review System Status: When seeking help in community forums, you will often be asked to provide your site's System Status Report (found under WooCommerce > Status). This helps volunteers understand your environment.

Conclusion

The missing unit pricing measure error is a known limitation of the Google Listings & Ads plugin for WooCommerce. While there is no simple, out-of-the-box fix, the community is aware of the problem. The current options are to wait for official support to be added in a future update or to explore custom coding solutions that come with their own complexities and are not officially supported.

For the latest official information on supported attributes, you can refer to the Google Listings & Ads documentation on global attribute mapping.