Tapestry is making Coach and Kate Spade products purchasable directly inside Google’s Gemini app and AI Mode, complete with Google Pay checkout and no website redirect.
Chris Walton breaks down why he likes the experiment, but also why brands shouldn’t overinvest in someone else’s AI experience at the expense of building agentic search on their own sites.
Watch the full Fast Five episode here: https://youtu.be/YTVMA7yS7-g
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Transcripts
Speaker A:
Tapestry is making Coach and Kate Spade products purchasable directly inside Google Search, including AI Mode and the Gemini app with an inline buy button and Google Pay checkout with no website redirect required, according to Retail dive.
Speaker A:
Checkout is powered by the Universal Commerce Protocol, AKA the ucp.
Speaker A:
It's my favorite three letter acronym in all of retail right now.
Speaker A:
The ucp an open industry standard for agentic commerce, and each transaction requires the consumer's explicit approval.
Speaker A:
Tapestry's CEO noted that discovery has moved from store windows and magazines to social media and said, quote, now it's happening inside a conversation with AI.
Speaker A:
End quote.
Speaker A:
Ella, what is the next question?
Speaker B:
All right, Chris, question number two.
Speaker B:
In the same week, Amazon is slamming the door on Meta's agent, Tapestry is throwing the doors wide open to Google's.
Speaker B:
What do you think of Tapestry's agentic commerce strategy?
Speaker B:
And what does Tapestry risk giving up by letting Google own the checkout moment?
Speaker A:
Oh my God, these guys are putting my feet to the fire here, Ella.
Speaker A:
Jesus.
Speaker A:
All right, well, I mean, at the end of the day, I don't think this is a risky move from Tapestry at all.
Speaker A:
And the reason I say that and this, this nuance I think is important, Producer Ella.
Speaker A:
I think this nuance is that because here we're talking about branded apparel.
Speaker A:
Branded apparel doesn't run on retail media the same way other retail verticals do, particularly grocery or like the large marketplaces like Amazon does.
Speaker A:
So, so if the consumer is demanding it, or even if Tapestry wants to trial it out, I'm good with it, I think it makes sense.
Speaker A:
But I wouldn't over invest here.
Speaker A:
I will take this till the cows come home.
Speaker A:
Ella.
Speaker A:
I wouldn't over invest here vs agentic search live and functioning on your own site.
Speaker A:
That's what I would go and invest in first.
Speaker A:
Because it is still a big if.
Speaker A:
A big if.
Speaker A:
If Google will get people to interact in this manner to a large degree, but likely, yes, but still a big if.
Speaker A:
Whereas in your own site, customers are already looking for your product and therefore there's a stronger proclivity to buy from you.
Speaker A:
So again, going back to the first headline, the through line here of all these stories, they're gonna start to run together.
Speaker A:
The through line here is that you can try to block them, but enough retailers are gonna be out there plugging into them where it's gonna be hard to beat them if you can't join them.
