WPP acquires Canadian commerce agency Diff

The acquisition will further strengthen WPP’s digital commerce capabilities and reflects the company’s ongoing investment into its commerce offer for clients.

WPP acquires Diff, a Canadian commerce agency, to grow its partner ecosystem in North America. The acquisition will further strengthen WPP’s digital commerce capabilities and reflects the company’s ongoing investment into its commerce offer for clients. It is aligned with the company's accelerated growth strategy, building on existing capabilities in the areas of commerce and technology. 

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Diff is an award-winning developer of tailor-made commerce solutions with specialized capabilities that address the rapidly growing Shopify commerce ecosystem. Founded in 2011 by Benjamin Crudo, the 115-strong company will join the Wunderman Thompson global network, complementing its world-class commerce and marketing services teams in North America.  

Neil Stewart, CEO of Wunderman Thompson Commerce, said: “This acquisition boosts  Wunderman Thompson’s commerce and technology ecosystem across North America,  bringing Shopify expertise to our roster of well-established technology partnerships. Our global  clients will now have access to the expertise of one of Shopify’s longest standing partners and  its multichannel platform that caters to 600 million shoppers in more than 175 countries.  Together we offer brands and retailers extended routes to market, including D2C, marketplaces, eRetail and social commerce.” 

Mark Read, CEO of WPP, said: “The tremendous growth in the digital commerce ecosystem  means our clients are looking to us to deliver the innovative solutions they need to reach new  and existing customers in meaningfully engaging ways. Diff’s Shopify expertise, alongside its unique blend of strategy, optimization and design, will be a welcome addition to our commerce portfolio and will drive results for our clients in North America, which is WPP’s largest market.” 

Benjamin Crudo, CEO and Founder of Diff, said: “We couldn’t be more excited to join the  ranks of Wunderman Thompson, bringing Shopify’s disruptive power to its global client base.  Ecommerce has been radically reshaping the way brands bring their products and services to  market, and Diff has been at the forefront of this revolution. As one of Shopify’s founding and most innovative agency partners we’re looking forward to continuing to expand the platform’s reach.” 

With direct-to-consumer commerce sales in the United States forecast to grow to almost $213 billion by 2023, more brands are adopting D2C models as part of a multichannel approach. Diff specializes in growth strategy, front-end design, site optimization and system integrations which has enabled the agency to create some of the most innovative, complex and high performing online stores on the Shopify platform, which now accounts for 10% of the United  States’ eCommerce market share. Among Diff’s high-growth D2C client portfolio are Giant Tiger, Kith, Sakara Life, and more. 

WPP is ranked as a Leader in Forrester's latest global Commerce Services Wave, and already manages more than $40bn of direct and $20bn of marketplace GMV for clients, employing 13,500 commerce specialists across its agencies.