On January 11, 2026, Walmart and Google announced a partnership to launch a new shopping experience that pairs the intelligence of Google’s Gemini with Walmart and Sam’s Club’s assortment.
John Furner, President and CEO of Walmart U.S., stated:
“The transition from traditional web or app search to agent-led commerce represents the next great evolution in retail. We aren’t just watching the shift, we are driving it.”
Why Walmart Chose Google
Walmart is betting on Google’s advertising-first model for several reasons:
50B+ products already indexed: Merchant Center integration is already built
Existing ad infrastructure: Same budgets, billing, ROAS goals Walmart already uses
No transaction fee:Walmart keeps 100% of transaction value
Scale:Google Search + Gemini reaches billions of users
What This Means for the Market
Walmart joining Google’s Universal Commerce Protocol is a major signal. As the world’s largest retailer by revenue, Walmart’s endorsement could accelerate UCP adoption across the retail industry.
Other launch partners announced alongside Walmart include:
Shopify
Target
Wayfair
Etsy
Best Buy
The Home Depot
Macy’s
The Competitive Implication
OpenAI’s Agentic Commerce Protocol now faces a formidable coalition. While OpenAI has the user base (900M weekly active users), Google is locking up the merchant relationships that make commerce actually work.
Gennaro is the creator of FourWeekMBA, which reached about four million business people, comprising C-level executives, investors, analysts, product managers, and aspiring digital entrepreneurs in 2022 alone | He is also Director of Sales for a high-tech scaleup in the AI Industry | In 2012, Gennaro earned an International MBA with emphasis on Corporate Finance and Business Strategy.
