Google Launches Universal Cart in the U.S. Across Search and the Gemini App
Google announced in an official blog post on October 15 that Universal Cart is rolling out in the United States across Google Search and the Gemini app. The feature was previewed earlier this year at Google I/O. Suresh Ganapathy, Google's senior director of product management for consumer shopping, described it as an intelligent shopping cart and a new hub for shopping on Google, with checkout powered by the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP).
Universal Cart saves products from multiple retailers in a single cart. In Google's example, a shopper saves a Steve Madden handbag in SI Mode in Search, then later saves a Quince sweater and an Ulta Beauty lip gloss in the Gemini app, and all three products are waiting in the same cart when the shopper returns, so shopping can pick up where it left off instead of relying on browser tabs and screenshots.
The cart also tracks price and inventory changes across the whole list. Google said it is built on the more than 60 billion continually refreshed product listings in its Shopping Graph, allowing it to send notifications when a saved item drops in price or comes back in stock.
On savings and payment, the cart is built on Google Wallet and can use card-perk information to help shoppers choose between payment methods, and it shows relevant promo codes directly in the cart.
When shoppers are ready to buy, many stores let them check out securely with Google Pay in a few taps right in the cart, or transfer items to the merchant's own cart to finish buying on the merchant's site. Google listed Nike, Sephora, Target, Ulta Beauty, Walmart, Wayfair and many Shopify merchants among the first offering the simplified checkout. Either way, confirmations and customer support come directly from the merchant, which remains the seller of record.
Google positioned Universal Cart as one of its tools for the holiday shopping season, aimed at helping shoppers stay organized and keep track of promotions.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 谷歌Universal Cart官方示意图：跨店购物车界面、降价提醒与卡权益提示 · 谷歌官方博客发布图（企业官方发布）
