Google formally opened up shopper access to its new Universal Cart for agentic shopping, laying out artificial intelligence (AI)-powered features for price-tracking and checking ahead of the 2026 holiday shopping season.
Universal Cart, which Google previewed at its I/O developer conference in May, already has support from numerous retailers, including Ulta Beauty, Walmart, Wayfair, some Shopify merchants, and others. In October, Newegg became one of the latest names to integrate Google’s Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), which makes online checkout through Google’s Search and Gemini experiences possible.
Ulta Beauty ranks No. 37 in the Top 1000 Database. The database is Digital Commerce 360’s ranking of North America’s leading online retailers by annual web sales. There, Walmart is No. 2, Wayfair is No. 11, and Newegg is No. 86.
In Digital Commerce 360’s and ReFiBuy’s AI Commerce Rankings, Walmart ranks No. 37, Ulta Beauty No. 123, Wayfair No. 267 and Newegg No. 429. That set of rankings is available in the Top 1000 Pro with AI Database.
Which features Google launched with Universal Cart
Google announced online shopper-focused features that would be available at launch with Universal Cart. In the announcement, the company highlighted utility for holiday and discount-tracking scenarios.
“The cart puts you in control, helping to organize your shopping, keep track of items you love from across retailers, stay on top of promos, and enjoy effortless checkout powered by the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP),” wrote Suresh Ganapathy, senior director, product management, consumer shopping at Google, in a corporate blog post dated Oct. 15. “Today, Universal Cart is rolling out in the U.S. across Google Search and in the Gemini app.”
Ganapathy specifically noted that Universal Cart would handle checkout for products from multiple retailers at once, tracking pricing and inventory changes, proposing savings options and enabling purchases from merchants’ own websites when desired.
“Let’s say you save a handbag from Steve Madden to your cart in AI Mode in Search, and later a sweater from Quince and lipgloss from Ulta Beauty in the Gemini app,” Ganapathy explained. “Those products will be there in your cart when you come back later so you can pick up right where you left off.”
Universal Cart use cases for holiday shopping
Ganapathy framed Universal Cart as a means for online shoppers to “stay organized and shop more confidently this holiday season.” He cited “the 60+ billion continually refreshed product listings in Google’s Shopping Graph” as its underlying knowledge set. That data in turn informs responses to shopper prompts.
It then provides checkout options for discovered and selected products for Google Wallet users.
“As the holiday season kicks into high gear, the Universal Cart is just one way we’re giving shoppers the convenience and smarts they need to make the best shopping choices,” he stated.
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