{"id":14176,"date":"2026-02-24T12:22:06","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T17:22:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cqcd.org\/blogue\/commerce-agentique-et-ucp-ce-qui-change-concretement-pour-les-detaillants-en-2026\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T12:41:23","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T17:41:23","slug":"agentic-commerce-ucp-whats-changing-concretely-for-retailers-in-2026","status":"publish","type":"blog_article","link":"https:\/\/www.cqcd.org\/en\/blog\/agentic-commerce-ucp-whats-changing-concretely-for-retailers-in-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Agentic Commerce & UCP: What\u2019s Changing Concretely for Retailers in 2026"},"content":{"rendered":" \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n
\n
\n \n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n
\n

\n Agentic Commerce & UCP: What\u2019s Changing Concretely for Retailers in 2026\n <\/h2>\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n

At the NRF 2026, several announcements confirmed a major shift: artificial intelligence in commerce is moving from demonstration to execution. To identify the trends worth watching and witness the most structuring announcements firsthand, Novatize attended NRF\u02bc26 in New York\u2014at the heart of the retail ecosystem. The goal was clear: understand what is already being deployed at scale, what is becoming a standard, and what this means in practical terms for retailers and eCommerce teams.<\/p>\n

At Novatize<\/a>, we support retail organizations as they evolve their platforms, data foundations, and digital journeys. In 2026, the challenge is no longer simply to integrate \u201cAI features,\u201d but to prepare for a new way of buying: agentic commerce.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/main>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\n \n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n
\n
\n Definition\n <\/div>\n\n

\n What is Agentic Commerce?\n <\/h2>\n <\/div>\n
\n
\n

Agentic commerce<\/strong> refers to a purchasing mode where AI no longer merely assists with search or suggests recommendations. It helps execute an intent within a defined framework. Concretely, an agent can help clarify a need, apply constraints (budget, timelines, preferences), select an option, initiate a transaction, and orchestrate the steps that follow.<\/p>\n

This is a structural shift for retail because it moves part of the journey outside traditional interfaces. Transactional websites, category pages, and navigation remain important, but they are not necessarily the central point of decision-making anymore. Commerce becomes more intent-driven and depends on how effectively an offer can be understood and acted on by automated systems.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/main>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\n \n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n
\n

\n UCP: Why This Protocol is Becoming a Cornerstone?\n <\/h2>\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n

For agentic commerce to move from experimentation to broad adoption, the ecosystem needs a shared language between agents, platforms, and merchant systems. That\u2019s precisely the purpose of the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) announced by Google at the NRF: to make exchanges more universal by enabling an agent to discover what a merchant supports, query critical information, and execute transactional steps more robustly.<\/p>\n

Retailers should read this signal correctly. UCP isn\u02bct just \u201ca technology announcement\u201d. It\u2019s an indicator of standardization. When a protocol emerges, it quickly influences how platforms, partners, and shopping surfaces shape their priorities and it accelerates the industrialization of a new channel.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/main>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\n \n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n
\n

\n What This Means in Practice? The Transaction Becomes a Compatible Process\n <\/h2>\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n

In a more agentic commerce model, an agent needs reliable, structured, and up-to-date information to take action. Availability, pricing, variants, shipping and return policies, compliance, and even certain service rules must be expressed consistently. This is no longer only about convincing a customer or optimizing a product page, it\u2019s also about making the offer executable in an environment where decisions and actions can be partially automated.<\/p>\n

This compatibility directly impacts eCommerce architecture. The more a business relies on systems that can exchange information cleanly, the more capable it becomes of supporting agentic interactions. Conversely, an environment where data is fragmented, rules are implicit, or inventory and pricing don\u02bct reflect operational reality becomes difficult to align with agent-initiated journeys.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/main>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\n \n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n
\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n <\/picture>\n <\/div>\n
\n

\n A Concrete Retail Example: How The Buying Journey Transforms?\n <\/h2>\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n

Imagine a parent who needs to buy a rain jacket for their child\u2019s farm trip in two days, with specific constraints: size, budget, waterproof performance, and either nearby store availability or express delivery. In today\u2019s journey, the person opens a search engine, compares multiple sites, filters categories, reads sometimes incomplete descriptions, checks availability, starts over elsewhere if the right size is missing, and finally completes the purchase after multiple back-and-forth steps.<\/p>\n

In an agentic journey via an assistant like Gemini, the intent is expressed once and the agent orchestrates the rest: it understands the constraints, queries compatible catalogs, checks available sizes in real time, proposes a few options that can actually be delivered within the required timeframe, then builds the cart and initiates the transaction\u2014with final validation at checkout. The key difference isn\u2019t only speed: it\u2019s the displacement of the journey, moving from manual navigation to automated orchestration, where performance depends directly on the quality and readability of merchant data.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/main>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\n \n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n
\n

\n Why Shopify Merchants Are Well Positioned?\n <\/h2>\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n

The competitive advantage isn\u2019t simply being on a popular platform. It lies in the alignment between the platform, emerging standards, and the strength of data foundations. The fact that Shopify co-developed UCP with Google is a clear signal: Shopify is positioning its ecosystem to support increasingly agentic commerce experiences.<\/p>\n

That doesn\u2019t mean everything becomes automatic. It means the foundation is more favorable: a unified architecture, more advanced structuring practices, and product roadmaps aligned with emerging standards. In a world where AI discoverability and understanding depend heavily on data structure and consistency, platforms that accelerate these foundations give their merchants a structural advantage.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/main>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\n \n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n
\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n <\/picture>\n <\/div>\n
\n

\n What Priorities Should Retailers Set For 2026?\n <\/h2>\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n

Preparing for agentic commerce isn\u2019t about \u201cadding an agent\u201d to your site. Real readiness starts with foundations that make the offer robust, readable, and reliable. In an agentic world, an inventory mismatch, an ambiguous policy, a poorly structured catalog, or incomplete data can translate into an impossible transaction or a loss of trust.<\/p>\n

The first priority is to strengthen data quality and structure. The catalog must clearly express what the product is, its essential attributes, variants, and shipping and return conditions. The second priority is to improve the reliability of dynamic signals, especially inventory, pricing, and lead times. An agent doesn\u2019t interact with a marketing promise; it interacts with operational reality. Finally, it\u2019s essential to approach this topic through governance: which actions require confirmation, how exceptions are handled, and how substitutions, cancellations, and returns are managed.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/main>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\n \n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n
\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n <\/picture>\n <\/div>\n
\n

\n A New Channel to Prepare For Now\n <\/h2>\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n

Agentic commerce introduces a more structural kind of competition: retailers won\u2019t only be compared on perceived value, but also on their ability to be understood and acted on efficiently by agents. Organizations that invest early in data structuring, operational reliability, and coherent architecture will be able to capture the benefits of this new channel sooner.<\/p>\n

At Novatize, we observe that organizations moving fastest on these topics are those treating product data, integration, and governance as strategic assets on the same level as customer experience or merchandising. In 2026, preparing for agentic commerce means ensuring you can be discovered, understood, and transacted within a world where purchasing is increasingly orchestrated by agents.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/main>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\n \n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n
\n

\n Talk to a Novatize Expert\n <\/h2>\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n

Would you like to assess whether your catalog, data, and eCommerce ecosystem are ready for agentic commerce? Contact a Novatize expert<\/a><\/strong> to discuss short-term priorities and concrete actions to implement.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/main>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\n \n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n
\n

\n About Novatize\n <\/h2>\n <\/div>\n
\n
\n

Novatize supports organizations locally and internationally in designing and evolving their unified commerce and eCommerce ecosystems by aligning strategy, customer experience, and technology. Its team combines consulting expertise and delivery capabilities to provide tangible solutions tailored to the realities of retailers and brands. Through its strategic alliances, Novatize helps businesses accelerate their transformation and create lasting value.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/main>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At the NRF 2026, several new developments confirmed a major trend: artificial intelligence in retail is moving from demonstration to implementation. Find out what will change for retailers in 2026 with the arrival of agentic commerce and UCP.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":14178,"template":"","article_category":[102,124,125,128],"class_list":["post-14176","blog_article","type-blog_article","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","article_category-retail-en","article_category-digital-transformation","article_category-ecommerce","article_category-artifical-intelligence"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAgentic Commerce & UCP: What\u2019s Changing Concretely for Retailers in 2026 - The Retail Council of Quebec<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"NRF 2026: agentic commerce and UCP are redefining the retail industry. Discover the concrete impacts for retailers and the key actions to implement in 2026.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cqcd.org\/en\/blog\/agentic-commerce-ucp-whats-changing-concretely-for-retailers-in-2026\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Agentic Commerce & UCP: What\u2019s Changing Concretely for Retailers in 2026\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"At the NRF 2026, several new developments confirmed a major trend: artificial intelligence in retail is moving from demonstration to implementation.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.cqcd.org\/en\/blog\/agentic-commerce-ucp-whats-changing-concretely-for-retailers-in-2026\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Conseil qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois du commerce de d\u00e9tail\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-24T17:41:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.cqcd.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Blogue-CQCD-437x322_Article-Novatize.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"437\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"322\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.cqcd.org\/en\/blog\/agentic-commerce-ucp-whats-changing-concretely-for-retailers-in-2026\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.cqcd.org\/en\/blog\/agentic-commerce-ucp-whats-changing-concretely-for-retailers-in-2026\/\",\"name\":\"Agentic Commerce & UCP: What\u2019s Changing Concretely for Retailers in 2026 - The Retail Council of Quebec\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.cqcd.org\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.cqcd.org\/en\/blog\/agentic-commerce-ucp-whats-changing-concretely-for-retailers-in-2026\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.cqcd.org\/en\/blog\/agentic-commerce-ucp-whats-changing-concretely-for-retailers-in-2026\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.cqcd.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Blogue-CQCD-437x322_Article-Novatize.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-24T17:22:06+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-24T17:41:23+00:00\",\"description\":\"NRF 2026: agentic commerce and UCP are redefining the retail industry. Discover the concrete impacts for retailers and the key actions to implement in 2026.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.cqcd.org\/en\/blog\/agentic-commerce-ucp-whats-changing-concretely-for-retailers-in-2026\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.cqcd.org\/en\/blog\/agentic-commerce-ucp-whats-changing-concretely-for-retailers-in-2026\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.cqcd.org\/en\/blog\/agentic-commerce-ucp-whats-changing-concretely-for-retailers-in-2026\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.cqcd.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Blogue-CQCD-437x322_Article-Novatize.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.cqcd.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Blogue-CQCD-437x322_Article-Novatize.png\",\"width\":437,\"height\":322},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.cqcd.org\/en\/blog\/agentic-commerce-ucp-whats-changing-concretely-for-retailers-in-2026\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Accueil\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.cqcd.org\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Agentic Commerce & UCP: What\u2019s Changing Concretely for Retailers in 2026\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.cqcd.org\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.cqcd.org\/en\/\",\"name\":\"Conseil qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois du commerce de d\u00e9tail\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.cqcd.org\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Agentic Commerce & UCP: What\u2019s Changing Concretely for Retailers in 2026 - The Retail Council of Quebec","description":"NRF 2026: agentic commerce and UCP are redefining the retail industry. Discover the concrete impacts for retailers and the key actions to implement in 2026.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.cqcd.org\/en\/blog\/agentic-commerce-ucp-whats-changing-concretely-for-retailers-in-2026\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Agentic Commerce & UCP: What\u2019s Changing Concretely for Retailers in 2026","og_description":"At the NRF 2026, several new developments confirmed a major trend: artificial intelligence in retail is moving from demonstration to implementation.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.cqcd.org\/en\/blog\/agentic-commerce-ucp-whats-changing-concretely-for-retailers-in-2026\/","og_site_name":"Conseil qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois du commerce de d\u00e9tail","article_modified_time":"2026-02-24T17:41:23+00:00","og_image":[{"width":437,"height":322,"url":"https:\/\/www.cqcd.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Blogue-CQCD-437x322_Article-Novatize.png","type":"image\/png"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.cqcd.org\/en\/blog\/agentic-commerce-ucp-whats-changing-concretely-for-retailers-in-2026\/","url":"https:\/\/www.cqcd.org\/en\/blog\/agentic-commerce-ucp-whats-changing-concretely-for-retailers-in-2026\/","name":"Agentic Commerce & UCP: What\u2019s Changing Concretely for Retailers in 2026 - The Retail Council of Quebec","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cqcd.org\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cqcd.org\/en\/blog\/agentic-commerce-ucp-whats-changing-concretely-for-retailers-in-2026\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cqcd.org\/en\/blog\/agentic-commerce-ucp-whats-changing-concretely-for-retailers-in-2026\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.cqcd.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Blogue-CQCD-437x322_Article-Novatize.png","datePublished":"2026-02-24T17:22:06+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-24T17:41:23+00:00","description":"NRF 2026: agentic commerce and UCP are redefining the retail industry. Discover the concrete impacts for retailers and the key actions to implement in 2026.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cqcd.org\/en\/blog\/agentic-commerce-ucp-whats-changing-concretely-for-retailers-in-2026\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.cqcd.org\/en\/blog\/agentic-commerce-ucp-whats-changing-concretely-for-retailers-in-2026\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.cqcd.org\/en\/blog\/agentic-commerce-ucp-whats-changing-concretely-for-retailers-in-2026\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.cqcd.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Blogue-CQCD-437x322_Article-Novatize.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.cqcd.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Blogue-CQCD-437x322_Article-Novatize.png","width":437,"height":322},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.cqcd.org\/en\/blog\/agentic-commerce-ucp-whats-changing-concretely-for-retailers-in-2026\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Accueil","item":"https:\/\/www.cqcd.org\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Agentic Commerce & UCP: What\u2019s Changing Concretely for Retailers in 2026"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.cqcd.org\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.cqcd.org\/en\/","name":"Conseil qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois du commerce de d\u00e9tail","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.cqcd.org\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cqcd.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog_article\/14176","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cqcd.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog_article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cqcd.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/blog_article"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cqcd.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14178"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cqcd.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14176"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"article_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cqcd.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article_category?post=14176"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}