Commerce Supports Universal Commerce Protocol, Plans to Offer Buying Directly Across Google’s AI Surfaces

Rhea-AI Summary

Commerce (Nasdaq: CMRC) endorsed Google’s open-source Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) and plans to support buying directly across Google’s AI surfaces. UCP creates a common language for agents and systems across discovery, purchase, and post-purchase flows, reducing the need for separate integrations. Commerce said UCP will soon enable a new checkout feature in AI Mode in Search and the Gemini app for eligible US retailers and Commerce merchants, while merchants remain merchant of record. Commerce will use its Feedonomics data enrichment layer to align product feeds with Google schema to improve visibility and conversion.

Positive

• Endorses Google’s UCP to standardize agent-driven commerce integrations
• Plans to enable direct checkout on Google AI surfaces for eligible US merchants
• Merchants retain status as merchant of record and keep transaction/customer data
• Uses Feedonomics data enrichment to align product feeds with Google schema

Negative

• Initial checkout capability limited to eligible US retailers, not global
• Implementation requires merchants to structure and enrich product data (resource-intensive)

Key Figures

Publication date: Jan 11, 2026

1 metrics

Publication date Jan 11, 2026 Press release announcing UCP endorsement with Google

Market Reality Check

Price: $3.73 Vol: Volume 789,294 is 1.14x t...

normal vol

$3.73 Last Close

Volume Volume 789,294 is 1.14x the 20-day average of 695,136, indicating elevated trading interest pre-announcement. normal

Technical Shares at $4.05 are trading below the 200-day MA of $4.62 and sit close to the 52-week low of $4.015, about 26.96% under the $5.545 52-week high.

Peers on Argus

CMRC was down 2.17% while key peers were mixed: BIGC -7.72%, PUBM -2.45%, LAW -0...

CMRC was down 2.17% while key peers were mixed: BIGC -7.72%, PUBM -2.45%, LAW -0.54% versus API +8.43% and OOMA +0.78%, pointing to stock‑specific factors rather than a unified sector move.

Historical Context

5 past events · Latest: Dec 18 (Positive)

Pattern 5 events

Date	Event	Sentiment	Move	Catalyst
Dec 18	AI partnership	Positive	+1.9%	Stripe Agentic Commerce Suite integration enabling AI-powered discovery and checkout.
Dec 15	Customer win	Positive	+0.5%	EuroOptic composable ecommerce launch driving higher sales and conversion metrics.
Nov 25	Investor conferences	Neutral	+1.6%	Participation in December tech investor conferences with executive presentations.
Nov 06	Industry recognition	Positive	+0.6%	BigCommerce named Challenger in 2025 Gartner Magic Quadrant for digital commerce.
Nov 06	Earnings update	Positive	+0.6%	Q3 2025 results with revenue growth, higher margins, and agentic commerce initiatives.

Pattern Detected

Recent company news, including AI and partnership updates, has typically seen modestly positive next‑day moves, suggesting a history of constructive but measured market responses.

Recent Company History

Over the last few months, Commerce (CMRC) reported several milestones. On Nov 6, 2025, Q3 2025 results showed revenue of $86.0M and improved profitability metrics, followed the same day by recognition in the 2025 Gartner Magic Quadrant. Subsequent news highlighted customer wins like EuroOptic on Dec 15, 2025 and an AI-focused Stripe agentic commerce integration on Dec 18, 2025. Each of these announcements saw small positive price reactions, providing a backdrop for today’s AI-related UCP endorsement with Google.

Market Pulse Summary

This announcement underscores Commerce’s push deeper into AI-driven shopping by endorsing Google’s U...

Analysis

This announcement underscores Commerce’s push deeper into AI-driven shopping by endorsing Google’s Universal Commerce Protocol and enabling direct buying within Google’s AI experiences. It builds on prior agentic commerce integrations and data-enrichment capabilities powered by Feedonomics. Investors monitoring this story may focus on how many merchants adopt UCP-powered flows, the quality of transaction data control for merchants, and future disclosures on usage or revenue contribution tied to these AI initiatives.

Key Terms

universal commerce protocol (ucp), open-source standard, agentic commerce, merchant of record, +1 more

5 terms

universal commerce protocol (ucp) technical

"announced its endorsement of Google’s new Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP)."

A universal commerce protocol (UCP) is a standardized set of rules and technical steps that lets different payment systems, online stores and marketplaces exchange orders, prices and payments smoothly — like a universal power adapter that lets devices from different countries plug into the same outlet. For investors, widespread adoption of a UCP can lower transaction costs, expand a company’s potential customer base, and create new revenue or fee-sharing opportunities, while also introducing implementation and regulatory risks to watch.

open-source standard technical

"The new, open-source standard creates a common language for agents and systems"

A publicly available technical specification that anyone can read, use, and implement without paying licensing fees, developed and maintained collectively rather than owned by a single company. Think of it like a shared recipe or blueprint that helps different products and services work together; for investors, adoption of an open-source standard can speed market growth, lower costs, reduce reliance on a single vendor, and change competitive dynamics and valuation risks.

agentic commerce technical

"Learn more about how Commerce is powering the era of agentic commerce here"

Agentic commerce is buying and selling driven by autonomous digital agents — such as smart apps, bots, or AI assistants — that act on a person’s or business’s behalf to find, compare, negotiate and execute transactions. Investors should care because these agents can change who controls customer relationships, cut costs and speed up sales like a personal shopper that never sleeps, but they also shift competitive dynamics, data value and regulatory risk for platforms and retailers.

merchant of record financial

"Remain merchant of record, retaining full ownership of the customer relationship"

A merchant of record is the legal entity shown on a customer’s receipt that is responsible for processing payments, collecting sales taxes, issuing refunds, and handling chargebacks — in effect the ‘store’ that legally sells the product. For investors this matters because it determines who recognizes revenue, bears payment and compliance risk, and pays transaction fees; like seeing a name on a receipt, it shows who carries the financial and legal responsibility for a sale.

schema technical

"optimizes product feeds to align with Google’s schema, dynamically enhancing titles"

A schema is a blueprint that defines how information is organized and labeled so different systems and people understand the same data the same way. For investors, a clear schema makes financial reports, regulatory filings and data feeds easier to compare, search and analyze—like a consistent filing system that prevents mismatched or missing documents and speeds up trustworthy decision-making. Poor or inconsistent schemas can hide risks, distort comparisons and raise the time and cost of due diligence.

AI-generated analysis. Not financial advice.

New standard creates a common language for agents and systems across the entire shopping journey from discovery and buying to post-purchase experiences

AUSTIN, Texas, Jan. 11, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Commerce (Nasdaq: CMRC), an open, intelligent ecosystem of technology solutions and the parent company of leading ecommerce platform BigCommerce and data feed optimization leader Feedonomics, today announced its endorsement of Google’s new Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP).

The new, open-source standard creates a common language for agents and systems to work together across the entire shopping journey from discovery and buying to post-purchase experiences. So instead of building a new connection for every agent, they can all interact seamlessly providing merchants with a frictionless way to reach customers across the entire AI ecosystem.

“AI is rapidly reshaping commerce. Merchants need to make it easy for shoppers to go from discovery to purchase, or they risk losing sales,” said Sharon Gee, senior vice president of product for AI at Commerce. “At the same time, keeping product data structured and enriched for AI can be resource-intensive. Our ongoing work with Google ensures merchants are not only present but competitive in AI-driven environments where consumers are searching and shopping.”

To start, UCP will soon enable a new checkout feature on product listings in AI Mode in Search and the Gemini app, allowing shoppers to buy directly from eligible US retailers and Commerce merchants right as they’re researching on Google.

“For agentic commerce to scale, it’s critical for the industry to align on a common set of standards,” said Ashish Gupta, vice president and general manager of merchant shopping at Google. “We are proud to have Commerce endorse the Universal Commerce Protocol as the foundation for that future.”

Discovery is shifting from traditional search that returns results to a specific query to conversational answer engines with embedded buying opportunities. Agent-driven shopping generates more specific, higher intent queries with consumers who know what they want and are ready to purchase it. Merchants must be strategic about how they show up in answer engines and remove barriers that prevent shoppers from making a purchase.

As part of the collaboration, Commerce is building toward the protocol to allow merchants to:

• Enable buying directly within Google’s AI experiences, helping to secure transactions at the moment of intent
• Remain merchant of record, retaining full ownership of the customer relationship and transaction data
• Future-proof their business with a unified open standard to power additional commerce actions
  

The UCP endorsement builds on the ongoing Google and Commerce partnership, utilizing Commerce’s key differentiator: its Feedonomics-powered data enrichment layer. This layer structures and optimizes product feeds to align with Google’s schema, dynamically enhancing titles, attributes, and taxonomy to ensure high-quality data that boosts product visibility, improves match rates, and conversion with the Google ecosystem.

Learn more about Google’s new UCP here: https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/agentic-commerce-ai-tools-protocol-retailers-platforms/

Learn more about how Commerce is powering the era of agentic commerce here: https://www.commerce.com/agentic-commerce/

About Commerce
Commerce (Nasdaq: CMRC) empowers businesses to innovate, grow, and thrive by providing an open, AI-driven commerce ecosystem. As the parent company of BigCommerce, Feedonomics, and Makeswift, Commerce connects the tools and systems that power growth, enabling businesses to unlock the full potential of their data, deliver seamless and personalized experiences across every channel, and adapt swiftly to an ever-changing market. Trusted by leading businesses like Coldwater Creek, Cole Haan, Harvey Nichols, King Arthur Baking Co., Mizuno, Perry Ellis, SportsShoes and Uplift Desk, Commerce delivers the storefront control, optimized data, and AI-ready tools businesses need to grow, serve diverse buyers, and operate with confidence in an increasingly intelligent, multi-surface world. For more information, visit commerce.com or follow us on X and LinkedIn.

BigCommerce®, the Commerce logo, and other brands are the trademarks or registered trademarks of BigCommerce Pty. Ltd. Third-party trademarks and service marks are the property of their respective owner.

Media Contact:
Brad Hem
pr@commerce.com

FAQ

What did Commerce (CMRC) announce about Google’s Universal Commerce Protocol on January 11, 2026?

Commerce endorsed Google’s Universal Commerce Protocol and announced plans to support buying directly across Google’s AI surfaces.

Will Commerce enable direct checkout on Google Search and Gemini for CMRC merchants?

Yes; Commerce said UCP will soon enable a new checkout feature in AI Mode in Search and the Gemini app for eligible US retailers and Commerce merchants.

Will merchants lose ownership of customer transactions when using Commerce’s UCP integration?

No; Commerce stated merchants will remain merchant of record and retain the customer relationship and transaction data.

How does Commerce plan to improve product visibility for Google’s AI experiences?

Commerce will use its Feedonomics-powered data enrichment layer to structure and optimize product feeds to align with Google’s schema.

Is the UCP checkout capability available worldwide now for CMRC merchants?

No; the announcement specifies the new checkout feature will apply to eligible US retailers initially.

What must merchants do to prepare for agent-driven buying using CMRC’s solution?

Merchants should structure and enrich product data to meet UCP/Google schema requirements, which the company notes can be resource-intensive.