# Keep your shopping app visible through every sale.

> ASO for shopping apps works in a category where the payment rule runs the other way: apps selling physical goods must use their own payment method instead of in-app purchase on the App Store, Google Play's billing system is not used for physical goods either, and discounts go into promotion tools rather than the title.

## What makes ASO different in this category?

- **What the Shopping category covers**: On the App Store, Shopping is for apps that support buying consumer goods or materially enhance the shopping experience: commerce, marketplaces, coupons, product reviews and apps with Apple Pay. On Google Play, Shopping covers online shopping, auctions, coupons, price comparison, grocery lists and product reviews. [1] [2]
- **Physical goods skip store billing**: Under Guideline 3.1.3(e), physical goods and services consumed outside the app use a purchase method other than in-app purchase, such as Apple Pay or card entry. Google Play's Payments policy also says its billing system must not be used for physical goods such as groceries, clothing, housewares and electronics, or for online auctions. [3] [4]
- **Gift cards split two ways**: Under Guideline 3.1.1, digital gift cards, vouchers and coupons redeemable for digital goods or services can only be sold in the app with in-app purchase. Physical gift cards mailed to customers may use other payment methods. [3]
- **Discounts stay out of the title**: Google Play's Metadata policy forbids text or images in the app title, icon or developer name that indicate price or promotional information. The Offers type of Google Play promotional content, on the other hand, covers discounts and offers on physical goods and services; it is open to all games and to apps that meet the eligibility criteria. [5] [6]

## Features that matter most

- [Head to head](https://uptika.app/en/product/head-to-head): Shows who leads across your tracked searches and the keywords your rivals rank for and you do not.
- [Rival log](https://uptika.app/en/product/rival-log): Logs rivals' title, short description, screenshot and price changes by date, so you see what they change around a sale.
- [Keyword hunt](https://uptika.app/en/product/keyword-hunt): Finds product, category and coupon searches from store autocomplete and your rivals' top 10 terms.
- [Reviews and insights](https://uptika.app/en/product/reviews): Reads reviews every 6 hours and splits them into complaints, bugs, requests and praise, so checkout or login problems surface early.

## Questions

### Can my shopping app take payment with Apple Pay?

Yes. Guideline 3.1.3(e) gives Apple Pay and traditional credit card entry as examples of purchase methods other than in-app purchase for physical goods and services consumed outside the app.

### Can I put "sale" in my app title?

Not on Google Play: the Metadata policy forbids price or promotional information in the title, icon and developer name. The free Metadata Linter tool checks your store text for this kind of policy risk in your browser.

## Sources

1. [Categories and discoverability (Apple Developer)](https://developer.apple.com/app-store/categories/)
2. [Choose a category and tags for your app or game (Play Console Help)](https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/9859673)
3. [App Review Guidelines 3.1.1, 3.1.3 (Apple Developer)](https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/)
4. [Payments policy (Play Console Help)](https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/9858738)
5. [Metadata policy (Play Console Help)](https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/9898842)
6. [Understand promotional content (Play Console Help)](https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/12929029)

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Uptika is an ASO and store-intelligence tool for the App Store and Google Play. https://uptika.app/en/categories/shopping · Last updated: 2026-11-05