EC & AI Commerce News Digest (February 12, 2026)

Top Stories

Google Launches Agentic Commerce with Etsy and Wayfair — Direct Checkout from AI Search Now Live

Google Launches Agentic Commerce With Etsy and Wayfair

Google's standard for connecting businesses and artificial intelligence (AI) agents is beginning to power checkout in the United States.

Google's Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) has begun powering actual checkout functionality in the United States. Etsy and Wayfair are the first partners, enabling users to purchase products directly from Google AI Mode search results.

Previously, Google Shopping followed a "search → navigate to external site → purchase" flow, but with agentic commerce, this shifts to "AI search → checkout on the spot." AI agents seamlessly handle everything from product discovery to payment, meaning whether an e-commerce business is integrated into Google's AI search ecosystem could significantly impact future customer acquisition.

Following Klarna's recent UCP participation, the addition of major marketplaces Etsy and Wayfair clearly signals that agentic commerce has entered the implementation phase.

Full article: Google's Agentic Commerce Goes Live with Etsy and Wayfair — UCP Checkout Moves from Concept to Reality

OpenAI Explores E-Commerce Entry — ChatGPT Shopping Becomes a Real Possibility

Is OpenAI entering its e-commerce era?

Tech Brew keeps business leaders up-to-date on the latest innovations, automation advances, policy shifts, and more, so they can make informed decisions about tech.

According to Tech Brew, OpenAI is considering introducing e-commerce functionality on ChatGPT. The vision is to complete the entire journey from product search and comparison to purchase within ChatGPT, positioning it as a new commerce platform to rival Google and Amazon.

With ChatGPT's monthly active users reaching hundreds of millions, the potential for this massive user base to become a commerce channel represents an impact the e-commerce industry cannot ignore. Combined with the recently launched advertising tests, OpenAI's commerce strategy is rapidly taking shape.

Full article: Is OpenAI Entering Its E-Commerce Era? — What Sales Tax, Payments, and a Trillion-Dollar Market Mean

Agentic Commerce

eBay Bans AI Agent Auto-Purchasing from February 20 — A Strategy in Stark Contrast to Google

eBay's agent ban signals the next battle in agentic commerce

On February 20, eBay's updated user agreement goes into effect, banning third-party AI agents that autonomously buy for consumers, targeting the emerging 'buy-for-me' tools designed to handle discovery, decisioning, and checkout.

eBay's updated terms of service, effective February 20, will ban the use of third-party AI agents that autonomously make purchases on behalf of consumers. The ban targets "buy-for-me" tools that automate product discovery, decision-making, and checkout.

While Google pushes agentic commerce forward with Etsy and Wayfair, eBay has taken the opposite approach by explicitly excluding AI agents. eBay's concerns appear to center on the risk of AI agents mass-scraping marketplace data, leading to price manipulation and bot bidding. As platforms diverge in their approach to agentic commerce, e-commerce businesses are being forced to reconsider their multi-channel strategies.

Wizard Commerce Emerges from Stealth with AI Shopping Agent — A New Force Led by Marc Lore

Exclusive: Marc Lore and Melissa Bridgeford's Wizard emerges from stealth

Wizard, an AI-native shopping agent cofounded by Marc Lore and CEO Melissa Bridgeford, is coming out of a nearly 5-year private beta.

Wizard Commerce, co-founded by Jet.com creator and former Walmart e-commerce head Marc Lore and CEO Melissa Bridgeford, has emerged from stealth after nearly five years of private beta.

Wizard is an "AI-native" shopping agent that learns user preferences and purchase history to handle everything from product discovery to purchase. As a startup led by e-commerce veterans, its entry into the agentic commerce market with an approach distinct from Google, OpenAI, and Amazon is drawing attention.

Agentic Commerce Security Challenges — Authentication and Payment Safety Are Key

InnoTech Today published an analysis of the security challenges accompanying the expansion of agentic commerce. Authentication methods for AI agents making autonomous purchases, payment safety, and identity fraud prevention are the key issues.

As agentic commerce enters the practical deployment stage, this underscores that building a security infrastructure in parallel with technical convenience is essential.

AI Commerce Tools

SPS Commerce Introduces Agentic AI "MAX" for Supply Chain

SPS Commerce Introduces New Agentic Capabilities

MAX is embedded into existing supply chain workflows, assessing and guiding customer connections to support the success of their business and trading relationships.

EDI and supply chain network leader SPS Commerce has announced its agentic AI capability "MAX." It monitors over 300,000 supply chain connections, proactively detecting order processing delays and inventory discrepancies and recommending actions.

MAX is delivered as an embedded feature within existing workflows, automating the management of trading partner relationships. This signals that agentic AI is beginning to penetrate not just front-end shopping experiences but also back-end supply chain operations.

Corporate News & Partnerships

Salesforce Acquires Cimulate to Strengthen Agentforce Commerce — Expanding AI Product Discovery

Salesforce buys Cimulate to boost its Agentforce Commerce suite

The acquisition underscores Salesforce's strategy to strengthen its grip on AI-driven product discovery as shopping shifts toward conversational and zero-click interfaces, analysts say.

Salesforce has acquired Cimulate, an AI product discovery platform. Cimulate's technology will be integrated into the Agentforce Commerce suite, enhancing product discovery through conversational and zero-click interfaces.

Analysts say the acquisition accelerates Salesforce's AI-driven commerce strategy. For e-commerce businesses using Salesforce Commerce Cloud, this means enhanced capabilities for AI agent-powered automatic product recommendations and conversational shopping.

Shopify Q4 2025 Earnings — Revenue $3.7B, Annual $11.6B Record, $2B Share Buyback Announced

Shopify's Standout 2025: The Launchpad for a New Era of Commerce in 2026

$11.6B in revenue, $2B in free cash flow and the launch of a $2B share repurchase program

Shopify released its Q4 2025 earnings. Q4 revenue reached $3.7B (up 31% year-over-year), annual revenue hit $11.6B, free cash flow reached $2B, and a $2B share repurchase program was announced.

GMV (Gross Merchandise Volume) also hit records, with Shop Pay transaction volume expanding. Shopify is accelerating investment in AI commerce capabilities, strengthening its position as a platform for the agentic commerce era. However, market reactions were mixed as EPS came in below analyst expectations, causing the stock to dip temporarily before recovering.

Full article: Shopify FY2025 Revenue Surpasses $11.6B — Strategic Foundations for the "Agentic Commerce Era" Revealed

Saks Discontinues E-Commerce Partnership with Amazon — Luxury Retail Returns to Independent Strategy

Saks is Discontinuing its E-commerce Partnership with Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN)

Saks Global, a bankrupt retailer, is terminating its 'Saks on Amazon' deal with Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), according to a source quoted by Reuters on January 31.

Bankrupt retailer Saks Global is reportedly terminating its "Saks on Amazon" partnership, according to sources cited by Reuters.

Concerns have long existed that luxury department stores selling on Amazon's marketplace could dilute brand value. Against the backdrop of Saks' bankruptcy, the company appears to be pivoting toward rebuilding its own e-commerce strategy independently.

Payments & Fintech

Coinbase Launches Purpose-Built "Agentic Wallets" for AI Agents

Coinbase Launches Purpose-Built Wallets for Autonomous AI Agent Commerce

Coinbase Developer Platform has launched Agentic Wallets, a wallet infrastructure designed specifically for AI agents.

Coinbase Developer Platform has launched "Agentic Wallets," wallet infrastructure designed specifically for AI agents. It enables autonomously operating AI agents to execute payments and transfers using cryptocurrency.

This is part of the push to advance the x402 protocol implementation, building a cryptocurrency-based agent payment infrastructure distinct from Google's UCP. The development of financial infrastructure for AI agents to conduct autonomous economic activity is progressing.

Global E-Commerce Trends

TikTok Shop Reaches $45B GMV Led by Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia drives TikTok Shop GMV to $45b: report

Tech in Asia reports on TikTok Shop's rapid growth driven by Southeast Asian markets.

According to Tech in Asia, TikTok Shop's gross merchandise volume (GMV) has reached $45B, driven primarily by Southeast Asian markets.

Southeast Asian markets including Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam account for the majority of GMV, with the "social commerce" model combining short video and e-commerce gaining overwhelming adoption in the region. The combination of live commerce and AI recommendations is driving growth, making TikTok Shop integration increasingly essential for e-commerce strategies in Southeast Asia.

Consumer Trends

2025 Holiday Season Return Rates Surge — Squeezing E-Commerce Profitability

Exclusive: Return rates sharply increased during 2025 holiday season

New data indicates the year-over-year increase in holiday spending was dwarfed by the rate of growth in holiday purchases that got returned.

Exclusive data from Chain Store Age shows that return rates during the 2025 holiday season increased significantly year-over-year. The growth rate of returns far outpaced the year-over-year increase in holiday spending.

"Bracketing" — the practice of ordering multiple sizes or colors and returning unwanted items — is believed to be behind the trend. Managing return costs and reducing return rates is becoming an increasingly critical business challenge for e-commerce operators. AI-powered size estimation and virtual try-on technologies are gaining attention as potential solutions.

Summary

The EC and AI commerce news on February 12, 2026 symbolizes the arrival of the "implementation phase" for agentic commerce. While Google launched actual checkout functionality through its partnership with Etsy and Wayfair, eBay decided to ban AI agents, clearly diverging platform strategies.

With new players entering the space — including OpenAI's e-commerce exploration and Wizard Commerce's emergence from stealth — competition in agentic commerce is intensifying. Shopify's record earnings also validate the success of its AI commerce strategy.

Key developments to watch include the industry response ahead of eBay's February 20 policy enforcement, new partner additions to Google's UCP ecosystem, and specific announcements regarding OpenAI's e-commerce features.