Google Ads expands Shopping and retention goals

Google is extending its customer lifecycle controls in October, giving retailers more ways to prioritise valuable new buyers and reach existing customers. The practical next step is to check the intended campaign’s settings before rebuilding a holiday plan around the announcement.

Three changes, different campaign coverage

Google’s official announcement extends New Customer High Value Mode to Shopping. It also says retention goals are rolling out across Performance Max, Search and Shopping.

The retention options serve different purposes: Re-engagement prioritises inactive customers while retaining broader reach; Loyalty supports member messaging and pricing; Retention Only restricts the campaign to selected existing-customer segments. Demand Gen is not listed for these retention modes.

Percentage multipliers are separately rolling out to Search, Shopping, Performance Max and Demand Gen in Google Ads and Search Ads 360. They scale the value adjustment proportionately instead of using a fixed amount. Google illustrates this with a 1.2x setting.

Check the documentation and the account

On 27 October, the Help Centre eligibility table still lists Re-engagement for Performance Max and High Value New Customer for Performance Max and Search. It specifies value-based bidding and a purchase conversion goal for those settings. The broader rollout announcement does not establish that these requirements disappear.

Do not infer that an absent option is a setup error, or that every older mode has a direct replacement. Confirm eligibility for your particular campaign before changing it.

Define the customer before choosing the mode

Google’s guidance lets advertisers define lapsed customers using their own business criteria and supply lists through Customer Match. Our recommendation is to document that definition alongside the campaign: product category, expected repurchase interval, exclusions and the date the segment was refreshed.

A high order value is not automatically high profit. Before increasing the value used for bidding, check the margin and repeat-purchase assumptions behind it. Measure whether the resulting customers contribute more after advertising costs, rather than treating a larger reported conversion value as an independent gain.

Original announcement and further context

Google’s AdsLiaison confirmed the campaign expansion on 22 October:

Google AdsLiaison on customer lifecycle goals, 22 October 2026

Read the original X post if the embed does not load.

For broader budgeting context, Google’s October Ads Decoded conversation with Ginny Marvin and product manager Tal Akabas covers bidding controls. It predates the written rollout announcement and should not be used as proof of current account availability.

Watch Google’s original discussion.

For the customer-data work behind a holiday plan, see our guide to building BFCM segments with Sidekick. Segment planning and campaign eligibility remain separate checks. Read the related guide.