CASE STUDY · COMFORT FOOTWEAR · UNITED STATES
The Walking Company: An Audit-Led Merchant Center Recovery
The Walking Company, a US comfort footwear retailer on Shopify, had its Google Merchant Center (GMC) account suspended for misrepresentation. We audited the website and the account, wrote a fix report for the company's own web team, and checked each round of changes. A review failed along the way, and the account was approved on September 7, 2026.
- Audit scope agreedTheir team edits, we auditAudit
- Fix report deliveredWebsite and account comparedReported
- Changes recheckedOpen items listed each roundChecked
- A review request failedRechecks continuedDenied
- Approval recordedMerchant Center accountApproved
The client
Who Is The Walking Company?
The Walking Company (thewalkingcompany.com) is a US retailer of comfort footwear. Its Shopify store sells shoes from brands such as ABEO, Birkenstock, Dansko and Vionic, along with orthotics and accessories.
The company has its own team for website changes. It asked us for an outside audit of what was wrong and an independent check of the fixes, not for another team editing the store.
- Business
- Comfort footwear retailer
- Products
- Shoes, orthotics and accessories
- Platform
- Shopify
- Market
- United States
- Issue
- Merchant Center misrepresentation suspension
- Scope
- Audit, fix report and rechecks of the company's changes
- Result
- Approved on September 7, 2026
The problem
What Did the Audit Find?
Information spread across product pages, policies, support pages and Merchant Center did not tell one consistent story. These are our findings; Google did not list its reasons.
- Delivery times were not broken down. Processing time, transit time and the total delivery window needed to be stated separately.
- Shipping differed by region. Those regional arrangements had to read the same on the website and in Merchant Center.
- Returns and refunds lacked detail. Eligibility, return methods, costs and processing times needed to be clearer.
- Support details varied across the site, and some contact links did not work as links.
- Broken links and support features that did not fully work added more points to check.
- The fixes had to suit an in-house team. The report needed to be clear enough to apply without a redesign.
The timeline
How Did the Recovery Unfold?
In three loops: audit, report, recheck. The company's team made the changes; we checked them against the report until the account was approved.
Dates come from our project record with the company. September 7, 2026 is the approval date in that record.
- August 6, 2026
The scope is set
The company asked for an audit, with its own team making the changes. We would find the issues and check the fixes.
- August 2026
The fix report
We compared the website with the Merchant Center settings: shipping, returns, business details, support access and consistency. Each finding went into the report with the change it needed.
- August 2026
The rechecks
The company's team made the changes. We reviewed them and updated the report, so nobody repeated work already done and nothing open was missed.
- Before approval
A review that failed
A review request did not succeed. We kept checking the remaining inconsistencies between the website and the account.
- September 7, 2026
Approved
The Merchant Center account was approved.
The work
What Did Our Audit and Rechecks Cover?
Four areas. We wrote the findings and checked the fixes; the company's team made every edit on the website.
Shipping Consistency
- Processing, transit and total delivery time
- Regional shipping differences
- Website and Merchant Center shipping settings compared
Returns and Support
- Return eligibility, methods, costs and timing
- Support details compared page by page
- Contact links tested
Navigation and Store Information
- Broken links found and listed
- Policy pages checked for easy access
- Payment information and support pages reviewed
Implementation Review
- Each round of changes checked against the report
- A short list of what was still open
- Follow-up through to approval
The result
Merchant Center Approved on September 7, 2026
The Walking Company's account was approved after our audit, the company's own fixes and our rechecks. It was not a one-step recovery: a review failed before the final approval.
- Suspended or denied
- Audit and fixes
- Approved
- When we startedSuspendedMisrepresentation
- Aug 6AuditWebsite and account compared
- AugustFixes and rechecksMade in-house, checked by us
- Before approvalReview deniedOpen items still being closed
- Sep 7ApprovedMerchant Center account
Before Logical Gecko
- A Merchant Center account suspended for misrepresentation
- Delivery times with no processing or transit breakdown
- Support details that varied across the site
- No independent check of the fixes
After Logical Gecko
- Merchant Center approved on September 7, 2026
- A written audit the in-house team could act on
- Every round of changes rechecked against it
- No redesign needed
It shows a dated account approval. It does not show a product count, Google Ads results, recovered revenue or the account's status today. Google makes every review decision.
Key lessons
What Can Other Retailers Learn From This?
Three points from an engagement where we never touched the website. Our Shopify misrepresentation guide covers the store side in detail.
An audit can be the whole job
A retailer with its own web team needs precise findings and an independent check, not another team editing the store.
Regional shipping needs the same detail
When delivery differs by region, the website and the Merchant Center shipping settings both have to show it, in the same terms.
Check the fixes before the review
The first round of changes did not close every finding. The rechecks found what was still open, and the failed review showed why that check matters.
FAQ
Questions About This Result
How did The Walking Company recover its Merchant Center account?
We audited the website and the Merchant Center account from August 6, 2026 and wrote a fix report covering delivery times, regional shipping, returns, support contacts and broken links. The company's own team made the changes, we rechecked each round and listed what was still open, and the account was approved on September 7, 2026.
Did Logical Gecko edit The Walking Company's website?
No. The company's own team made every website change. We audited the store and the account, wrote the fix report and checked each round of changes against it.
Was the account approved on the first review?
No. A review request was not successful before the final approval on September 7, 2026. We kept checking the open findings with the company's team in the meantime.
Does this case study include product counts or revenue?
No. The result is a Merchant Center account approval. It does not show a product count, Google Ads results, revenue or the account's status today.
Can you audit my store if my own team makes the changes?
Yes. Send us the suspension notice and your store URL. We tell you whether we found what is causing the suspension, with one or two of the issues explained. The full report and the rechecks come with the paid audit. See our Merchant Center suspension recovery service.
GMC recovery
Have a Web Team, but No Clear Fix List?
Send us the suspension notice and your store URL. We tell you whether we found what is causing it, so your team knows where to start.
Selected case studies
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