Google has launched its Universal Cart feature in AI Mode, allowing customers to accumulate items from multiple retailers into a single persistent cart accessible via Google Search (Retailgentic). Simultaneously, Target went live with checkout integration powered by Google's Universal Commerce Platform (UCP) (Retailgentic). The Universal Cart feature includes a persistent cart icon in the user's Google account and supports options to either complete a unified checkout or inject items into a specific retailer's cart.
This development represents a significant shift in agentic commerce, where AI assistants can facilitate multi-retailer shopping within a single interface. Users can now add items from retailers like Target, Etsy, and Walmart to a unified cart, then choose between consolidated checkout or retailer-specific checkout flows (Retailgentic). For commerce practitioners, this consolidation creates new competitive dynamics: success increasingly depends on integration with AI shopping platforms rather than standalone website optimization alone.
The rollout follows Google's May announcement that Universal Cart would arrive in summer 2026 (Retailgentic). Walmart has also reportedly activated on the platform, suggesting rapid retailer adoption of this UCP-powered shopping model.