Category-by-category regulations for shopping feeds in England

What to take away

Start with the product type, not the feed attribute

Category rules attach to the product, so the check starts with what you sell and where you sell it. A feed that mixes clothing, small electricals and food has several rulebooks, not one. Group the products by type first, then look up the rule for each group.

Next, check whether a UKCA or CE marking applies. GOV.UK says a product placed on the market in Great Britain may need a conformity marking, such as a UKCA or CE marking. Northern Ireland may follow separate product rules under the Windsor Framework. Ask the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) or local Trading Standards.

Questions about advertising claims and consumer law belong to the wider UK feed rules. Category checks sit beside them and answer a narrower question: does this product carry obligations of its own?

Match each category to its regulation

Five regulations cover the categories that most feeds touch. The table pairs each with the question to ask before you list the product. Each rule is a prompt to check, not a promise that it applies, because that depends on the product, the seller and the destination.

Add one more column to your own copy of the table: the product lines in your catalogue that fall under each row. A row with no products can be skipped. A product that fits two rows, such as a battery-powered toy in plastic packaging, needs both checks.

Trade listings carry duties of their own. Business-to-business feeds also fall under the Business Protection from Misleading Marketing Regulations 2008, so a wholesale price list is not exempt from accuracy rules just because the buyer is a business.

Use the right authority for the destination nation

The authority to ask depends on where the goods are sold. Product-safety questions go to OPSS and Trading Standards. Environmental questions go to a different body in each nation, and food questions go to the food agency for that nation.

Food listings also involve the local authority, so a food seller should know which council covers its premises. Do not assume an England-only rule applies throughout the UK; check the regulator for the nation where the shopper will receive the goods.

Some duties do not change by nation. VAT is administered by HMRC and data protection by the ICO, both UK-wide. If a category needs customer data in the feed, such as an allergy-aware segment, read the data protection rules before the list leaves your system.

Make the listing and the page agree with the product

The listing and the landing page must both describe the product truthfully, whatever its category. The Consumer Rights Act 2015 requires goods to match their description, so a claim in a feed can become a contract term. Write category details once and reuse them in both places.

The Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2002 require online service providers to make trader identity and contact details available and commercial communications identifiable. Check that the landing page shows the seller's name, geographical address and contact details, and that promotional messages read as advertising. That applies to a jumper and a battery charger alike.

The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 require specified pre-contract information, including the total price and applicable delivery charges. The Price Marking Order 2004 requires clear selling-price indications and unit prices where applicable. Make sure the product page and checkout show this information before the order. Trading Standards is a relevant authority for price-display checks.

Google expects the landing page to be accessible to Google, to display the product and to match the price and availability in your product data. A mismatch between feed and page is a policy risk rather than a cosmetic one, and it is a common trigger for feed disapprovals in Google Merchant Centre.

Most consumer prices in a UK feed include VAT, and the registration test is set nationally rather than by region. GOV.UK's guidance on VAT records the registration threshold at £90,000 from 1 April 2024, and covers returns and rates. Check it before you fix prices for customers in any of the four nations.

Run the same five steps for every new category

A routine makes the record build itself. Each time a new product type enters the feed, work through the same steps and file the result where the whole team can find it.

A new category often arrives with a new market. Pair this routine with a market entry checklist so product rules, budget and delivery settings are agreed together, and keep the saved record next to the feed quality checks you already run.

Common questions

Does one regulation list cover every product in my feed?

No. Each product type has its own rule, and the table above is a starting point rather than a full list. Check each type against its rule and the nation it ships to, and ask OPSS or Trading Standards if the category is not obvious.

Which authority decides whether UKCA or CE marking applies?

Start with OPSS and your local Trading Standards service, which are the relevant product-safety authorities. The answer depends on the product and the destination, and Northern Ireland may follow separate product rules, so ask before you list rather than after a complaint.

Do the rules differ in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland?

Yes. Product and environmental obligations can differ by nation, so use the authority for the destination. VAT and data protection are the exceptions: both are UK-wide, administered by HMRC and the ICO.

What should I keep as evidence for a category check?

Keep the regulation you checked, the product and destination it covered, the date and the person who checked it. Add a dated screenshot of the live listing, so you can show what shoppers saw when you answer a regulator or platform.