Google has added to its Merchant listing structured data documentation help page that it now supports the Product.category property and a new Sale duration mechanism within the schema.
Google explained it has updated the Merchant listing documentation to detail how the Product.category property can be used with both Text and CategoryCode types. "This aligns with the Google Merchant Center feed specifications for the product_type and google_product_category attributes," Google added. Google also said this is to "help merchants provide both merchant-defined and Google-defined category information within their schema.org markup, enhancing product information for Google Search and Shopping."
Here is the new section Google added to the product section in the documentation:
Google also added a new section on "Sale duration" to the Merchant listing structured data help document. Google said, "this explains how to use the validFrom, validThrough, and priceValidUntil schema.org properties to set the effective range for sale prices, including best practices and examples for placement on either Offer or PriceSpecification nodes." Google added this because it "aligns schema.org usage with the Merchant Center feed attribute sale_price_effective_date, providing clear instructions and best practices for merchants using structured data."
Here is that new section:
Forum discussion at X.
