Google’s Universal Cart Will Reward Retailers Whose Product Data and Checkout Hold Up, Victorious Says

When Victorious tested Google’s Universal Cart, two retailers’ links opened empty carts. Brands have five weeks before Black Friday to get product data ready.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA, UNITED STATES, October 23, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Google launched Universal Cart in the US on Oct. 15, a single cart that holds products from multiple retailers across Google Search and the Gemini app, with checkout through Google Pay or on the retailer’s own website. Google describes the cart as one of its “practical tools that give shoppers confidence and control,” separate from its work on AI agents that buy on a shopper’s behalf.

Victorious, an SEO and AEO agency focused on AI search visibility for mid-market and enterprise companies, says the cart makes comparing products at different stores easier and leaves the buying decision with the shopper. Heading into Black Friday on Nov. 27, that puts the pressure on each retailer’s product data and checkout.

When Victorious CEO Michael Transon tested the cart, two retailers let him save their products, but the link back to each store opened a product page with an empty cart and no tracking parameters. The shopper has to start over, and the retailer never learns the visit came from Google.

“The brands that do well in Universal Cart will be the ones whose product data answers a shopper’s question and whose checkout works when someone shows up ready to buy,” Transon said.

The cart runs on Google’s Shopping Graph, which draws heavily on each retailer’s Merchant Center feed, including prices, stock levels, shipping, and return policies. Retailers can let shoppers check out on Google, transfer the cart to their own site, or both, and the two paths are configured separately.

“Checking out on Google means fewer taps for the shopper. Cart transfer keeps the purchase and the customer relationship on your own site,” Transon said. “Whichever you pick, test it like a shopper would before Black Friday.”

Transon sees the shopper-controlled design as a response to how early agentic checkout performed. Walmart’s Daniel Danker told Wired in March that purchases completed inside ChatGPT converted at about one-third the rate of shoppers who clicked through to Walmart.com, and OpenAI said the same month it would shift its checkout feature toward product discovery and merchant-run checkout.

“The technology for fully agentic shopping is already here,” Transon said. “What’s missing is whether people trust it enough to use it.”

Transon doesn’t expect Google to make its money on the cart through transactions. Google hasn’t published fees for Universal Cart, and Modern Retail reported in June that the company has no plans to take a cut of purchases. The cart does show Google every product and price a shopper compares across stores.

“Google isn’t making money on the transaction,” Transon said. “The money is in ads and in keeping the shopping journey on Google.”

Transon covers the launch, what Google reads when it compares products, and where he expects the cart to go next in episode 18 of The Search Signal, the Victorious podcast. The episode is also available on YouTube.

About Victorious
Victorious is an SEO and AEO agency that helps mid-market and enterprise companies grow their visibility in Google and AI platforms like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Perplexity. Founded in 2013 and headquartered in San Francisco, the agency delivers technical SEO, content strategies, and digital PR. Victorious has been named Search Agency of the Year five times by juries of its peers at the US Search Awards, the US Agency Awards, and Search Engine Land.

Jill Maldonado
Victorious
+1 415-621-9830
Visit us on social media:
LinkedIn
Instagram
YouTube

Google Universal Cart: What Does It Mean for Ecommerce Brands?

Media gallery