What changed
Google has rolled out Universal Cart in the United States across Google Search, including AI Mode, and the Gemini app. Shoppers can add products from several retailers into a single cart that follows them between Search and Gemini. The cart sends alerts when a saved item drops in price or returns to stock, and it displays promo codes.
Because it runs on Google Wallet, the cart can recommend which of a shopper’s cards to use based on each card’s perks. At participating stores, buyers can pay with Google Pay or move to the retailer’s website to finish. Google named Nike, Sephora, Target, Ulta Beauty, Walmart, Wayfair and many Shopify merchants as partners. In both cases, the merchant remains the seller of record.
Google first previewed the cart at I/O in May. Several features mentioned then do not appear in the launch post, including price history, product compatibility warnings, loyalty program details, and support for YouTube and Gmail.
Why it matters
A shopper’s list now lives inside their Google account, and the sale can happen there too. Google describes two paths:
- Native checkout: the purchase is completed through Google.
- Cart transfer: a prefilled cart is created on your site when the shopper arrives, using the Cart API in Google’s Universal Commerce Protocol.
This first version of cart transfer only works one way. Google cannot update, delete or sync cart contents with your system after the transfer. Reporting also has gaps. Merchant Center tracks Buy clicks, purchases and cancellations, but no page lists a metric for products saved to a cart. For Shopify stores, Direct Checkout is on by default for eligible U.S. shops, and Google Analytics and custom pixels do not fire on those purchases.
What to do
- Check Merchant Center for the UCP integration hub. It is rolling out gradually in the U.S., with Australia and Canada expected next year.
- Choose your checkout path. Native checkout and cart transfer are separate options, and native checkout is not required to use cart transfer.
- Review Shopify settings. In Shopify Admin, go to Sales channels, then Agentic, to see whether Direct Checkout is turned on.
- Plan for missing data. If Direct Checkout is active, expect those sales to be absent from Google Analytics and adjust your reporting accordingly.
- Watch the analytics tab for Buy clicks, purchases and cart transfers, especially with the holiday season approaching.
- Keep pricing and promo codes accurate, since the cart surfaces price drops and codes directly to shoppers.
Source: Google’s Universal Cart Is Live: How Carts Get To Your Store, Search Engine Journal. This brief sums up their reporting; all credit for the original goes to them.
