WPP, the world’s largest ad agency, has acquired a Canadian firm called Diff that builds Shopify-powered ecommerce websites for consumer brands.

The deal is important because it will enable WPP to target a broader range of clients in a large and growing market. Last year, U.S. consumers purchased an estimated $870 billion worth of goods from online retailers, many of which rely on ecommerce agencies like Diff to support their business operations.

WPP is no stranger to the ecommerce sector. Of the approximately 109,000 people the London-based ad giant employs, more than 13,500 have experience developing or promoting online stores.

Diff, the firm that WPP has acquired, is headquartered in Montreal. A consumer brand can hire Diff to create an online store that runs on top of Shopify, a popular platform for hosting ecommerce websites.

Diff also assists clients with marketing campaigns, as well as more technical aspects of running an ecommerce business.

Under the hood, an online store is a mishmash of software products made by different companies. An ecommerce website’s search bar, checkout menu, mobile app and shopping recommendation panel might all be powered by a different software tool.

Retailers have to integrate those tools with one another to ensure a smooth shopping experience for customers. They then have to integrate their online store’s various components with internal business applications, such as ad campaign management tools.

As part of client engagements, Diff can handle the technical work involved in linking together the different software products that an e-commerce company uses. Generally, the larger the online store, the more complex moving pieces there are to integrate.

That one of Diff’s main specialties is designing Shopify stores is an important aspect of the acquisition.

“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,” commented WPP CEO Mark Read. 

Diff will join WPP’s Wunderman Thompson subsidiary in the wake of the acquisition.

Wunderman Thompson is one of the most important businesses within WPP, employing about 20,000 of the ad giant’s 109,000 employees. It’s an ad agency headquartered in New York with offices in dozens of other countries.

Diff’s 115 employees will join the 2,000 existing Wunderman Thompson staffers who work on online stores and related commerce projects. The clients for which Wunderman Thompson has carried out e-commerce work include Sainsbury, the second largest supermarket chain in the U.K.

“This acquisition boosts Wunderman Thompson’s commerce and technology ecosystem across North America, bringing Shopify expertise to our roster of well-established technology partnerships,” said Neil Stewart, the CEO of Wunderman Thompson’s commerce practice. “Our global clients will now have access to the expertise of one of Shopify’s longest standing partners.” 

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