Microsoft’s shopping-cart test was a 2018 preview, not a new 2026 announcement. First announced on August 14 for selected Xbox Insiders, it let users collect supported purchases and pay for them in one checkout across Xbox One, Windows 10 PCs and the Microsoft Store website. Microsoft temporarily took the first test offline on August 20, then announced an updated test on November 5.
What Microsoft was testing
The feature added a conventional cart to Microsoft’s storefront: instead of buying each item separately, a shopper could add multiple eligible products and complete one transaction with a unified order number. Microsoft’s examples included several games, a game with an app, or a movie with a game. It was a checkout convenience, not a bundle discount or a change to game ownership or licensing.
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Thurrott’s August 14, 2018 report described the test as useful but not essential for a game or app store. The practical benefit was fewer separate checkouts, particularly when buying several items at once.
Who could use it, and where did the cart work?
The initial console test was limited to Xbox Insiders in Preview Alpha – Skip Ahead, Preview Alpha and Preview Beta. Microsoft did not make it available immediately to every Xbox owner. The supported storefront ecosystem included Xbox One, Windows 10 PCs and the Microsoft Store on the web; “Xbox and PC” did not mean every Xbox console or Windows version.
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Microsoft said the cart could persist across those storefronts when the user was signed in with the same Microsoft account. A shared cart did not establish that every item worked on every device or that buying a game on one platform granted a license on another.
Which products could be added?
Microsoft said the cart supported physical goods, Xbox One games and apps, and Windows 10 PC games and apps. Availability still depended on the storefront: Microsoft specifically noted that Office 365 and eBooks could not be purchased through the Xbox Store. Physical-product support likewise did not mean every item could be bought from every device.
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How the preview cart worked
Adding an item in the August Xbox One test
- Open the Store on an Xbox One console and navigate to a game or app’s product page.
- Select the … button beside Buy, then choose Add to cart.
- Use the cart icon in the upper-right area of the Store to reopen the cart. The cart also opened after an item was added.
Microsoft’s August Xbox Wire announcement also described a Save for later option: it moved an item out of the active cart while keeping it below for a possible future purchase.
What changed in the November iteration
In its November 5 update, Microsoft described an Add to Cart button beneath Buy on supported product pages. This was a revised preview presentation, not a contradiction of the earlier ellipsis-menu instructions.
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Preview limitations and rollout issues
- Anonymous-cart discrepancies: On PC, cart contents could differ when a user switched between Do not track and Allow anonymous tracking. Microsoft said this issue did not affect people signed in with a Microsoft account or Gamertag.
- Cart-page navigation: Product carousels had navigation problems, and scrolling was disabled.
- Storefront exclusions: Some products were not purchasable from particular storefronts, even if they appeared elsewhere in Microsoft’s store.
- Delayed access: Microsoft warned that the feature might take several hours to appear on an eligible console and that a hard reset might be needed. These were remedies for the 2018 preview, not current support directions.
For the initial test, signing in with the same Microsoft account was important both for cross-device persistence and to avoid the stated anonymous-cart synchronization issue.
Why the first test stopped—and what followed
On August 20, 2018, Microsoft edited its original announcement to say it was taking Shopping Cart offline for fixes and improvements, with a return planned in the next few weeks. The initial test therefore was not an uninterrupted public release.
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On November 5, Microsoft announced that an updated cart was again available for testing. Xbox Insiders were to test it first, with Windows Insiders expected to follow; Microsoft said broader customer availability was planned after further testing across Xbox One, Windows 10 PCs and the web. The announcement documents that plan, not the exact timing or present-day status of a later general release.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How the wish list fit in
The November cart update was announced alongside a separate wish-list feature. Microsoft said wish lists could include physical products and digital games and apps, persist across Xbox One, Windows 10 PCs and the web, show sale pricing and badges, and be kept private or made public for sharing. The wish list helped shoppers set items aside; the cart was the tool for grouping eligible items into one checkout.
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Sources
- Microsoft, “New Shopping Cart feature now available in the Xbox Store!” — initial test details, eligibility, instructions, limitations and the August 20 update.
- Microsoft, “Updated Shopping Cart and Wish List coming to the Microsoft Store” — November test iteration and wish-list details.
- Thurrott, “Microsoft Store Tests New Shopping Cart Feature on Xbox and PC” — contemporary coverage dated August 14, 2018.
- Xbox Wire, “New Preview Alpha and Alpha Skip Ahead 1810 Update” — related Xbox One Insider preview context.
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