Shopify’s Hidden Subscription Label Triggers Google Misrepresentation Suspensions

Many Shopify merchants have been blindsided by an unexpected message on their site: a “One or more of the items in your cart is a recurring or deferred purchase…” notice (shown under the Buy button or at checkout). This notice is actually Shopify’s built-in Purchase Options Agreement label for subscription or pre-order items docs.shopside.com.au. The merchant never added any subscription option – yet the text appears anyway. In effect, a hidden Shopify code path is injecting subscription language into product pages and the checkout without the merchant’s intent.

Why is this a problem? Google’s Misrepresentation policy bans undisclosed recurring billing or deferred payment schemes. If Google’s crawler sees the “recurring or deferred purchase” text, it assumes customers are being signed up for ongoing charges they weren’t clearly informed about. This usually triggers an immediate Google Merchant Center suspension for “Misrepresentation” support.google.com. Indeed, policy guidelines explicitly forbid “failure to clearly and conspicuously disclose the payment model and full expense” to the user support.google.com. In practice, an unexplained “recurring purchase” warning looks like a red flag to Google – it suggests a hidden subscription or paywall. Because Google treats misrepresentation as an egregious violation, accounts are suspended without warning and rarely reinstated except under very strict conditions support.google.com. In short, this innocuous-looking text can kill your Merchant Center account overnight.

How to Spot the Hidden Label in Your Code

The good news is the rogue text is detectable with a quick source-code check. Open any affected product page or checkout in your browser, hit Ctrl+U (View Page Source), then Ctrl+F and search for keywords like recurring, deferred, selling_plan, or data-consent-type. Merchants report finding the phrase buried in a <small> or other HTML element. For example, in one real store’s source we see:

This snippet (data-consent-type="subscription")

is Shopify’s hidden buyer consent label theecommerceassistant.com. It only appears when Shopify thinks at least one cart item has a purchase option (subscription/preorder). If you find this or related phrases in your source, it confirms the issue. The presence of selling_plan in URLs or scripts also signals the same bug – it’s Shopify’s way of handling subscription plans.

Why You Can’t Just Delete the Code

It might be tempting to edit your theme or code to remove the text. Caution: this is easy to do wrong. Shopify’s own documentation notes that this subscription/pre-order label “automatically appears at checkout…you can’t remove this message completely” docs.shopside.com.audocs.shopside.com.au. In fact, merchants on Shopify’s forums report that changing theme text only fixes the label in some places – the notification often stubbornly remains elsewhere community.shopify.com. Because the code is hardwired into Shopify’s checkout scripts, manual deletions can break the checkout or violate Shopify’s checkout code policy. Non-Plus Shopify stores cannot safely edit core checkout files anyway.

Even beyond breaking your site, a poorly handled fix can worsen your Google problem. Google flags any attempts to “circumvent” its suspension rules. Shopify experts warn that repeated appeals or creating new GMC accounts (to “reset” a suspension) is itself a policy violation leading to permanent ban community.shopify.comsupport.google.com. In other words, hacking at this code without fully understanding Shopify’s mechanics and Google’s rules can lock you out for good. Remember, Google wants absolute clarity on payment terms. Accidentally removing the only disclosure (even if confusing) might make Google think you’ve hidden the recurring terms entirely – which is exactly the opposite of what you want.

Professional Help: Fixing the Bug Safely

The issue can be fixed – but it requires careful, technical work. Shopify experts (like our team) have diagnosed and resolved this exact problem for dozens of stores. We audit the theme’s buyer-consent and payment templates to remove the unintended subscription flag in all places, while preserving any needed labels. This lets us eliminate the offending text without breaking checkout. Once fixed, the store shows no mention of recurring billing unless it’s truly a subscription product. Merchants who’ve applied this fix successfully regained Google Shopping approval almost immediately.

If you suspect this hidden label is triggering your suspension, don’t guess or hack blindly. Our specialists will perform a free audit of your store  to pinpoint any hidden issues (including this subscription bug). We have a proven 97% success rate in overturning misrepresentation suspensions by addressing the root causes. Get your complimentary site review here: Request a free Google/Microsoft Ads compliance audit. Let us safely clear the “recurring purchase” flag so your Google listings can come back online docs.shopside.com.aucommunity.shopify.com.

Key Takeaways: Even if you never sell subscriptions, Shopify’s system may inject a “recurring/deferred purchase” notice on your checkout by default docs.shopside.com.au. Google treats that as misleading billing practices, triggering a severe misrepresentation suspension support.google.com. Detect it by viewing your page source (Ctrl+U) and searching for “recurring” or “selling_plan” – you’ll find a hidden data-consent element if it’s present theecommerceassistant.com. Fixing it involves careful theme edits; doing it wrong can break checkout or get you permanently banned. Our team has safely resolved this for many stores – we can help you, too. Don’t fight this alone: request a free audit of your online store and get expert guidance on reinstating your Google Merchant Center account.

Sources: Shopify’s own documentation and community discussions confirm that the “recurring or deferred purchase” text is a built-in Shopify purchase-option label docs.shopside.com.aucommunity.shopify.com. Google’s policy and expert forums explain why undisclosed recurring billing triggers a misrepresentation suspension support.google.comcommunity.shopify.com. The snippet above (with data-consent-type="subscription") was found on an actual Shopify store page source, illustrating how the text gets injected theecommerceassistant.com. All information is drawn from Shopify and Google policy resources and real merchant reports on the issue.