After submitting our proposal to the schema community, we received feedback that solving it using the boolean may not be a good idea: boolean flags are too limited.
As a reminder, we’re still trying to find a good solution to answering a common user question
“Where can I see and try this?”
Schema.org already gives us an excellent framework:
- Product to describe the item.
- Offer for availability and price.
- availability values such as
InStock,OutOfStock,InStoreOnly.
But:
InStoreOnly≠ on display.- It only means an item can be purchased in a store, not that it is visible on the floor. Often it sits in storage, ready to be shipped or picked up, but it doesn’t mean that one can view or try it.
- A boxed item in a stockroom and a sofa in the showroom are indistinguishable in schema. This often leads to frustration in the search process.
So here’s the refined idea:
Add a property displayLocation that links a thing to the Place where it is currently on display.
- Domain: Product, CreativeWork (including artworks, etc.)
- Range: Place
This makes the relationship explicit:
- A sofa → displayLocation → a furniture showroom.
- A painting → displayLocation → a museum.
Benefits
We see the following benefits:
- Clarity for consumers: Answers the universal question: “Where can I see this now?”
- Cross-domain use: Works for products, artworks, performances, and beyond.
- Consistency: Aligns with existing schema patterns (
→ Place) without adding domain-specific hacks. - Ecosystem value: Makes local search, cultural discovery, and product transparency more accurate and useful.
Next steps
- Agree on the property name (
displayLocationsuggested). - Confirm scope across
ProductandCreativeWork. - Discuss alignment with existing location-related properties to avoid overlap.
We believe this small addition fills a real gap and benefits both consumers or visitors looking to understand where they can experience an item such as a product or artwork as well as organisations such as store owners or museums.
We welcome your feedback and will move forward with this.