WPP recognised as a leader in commerce services

WPP shines with flexible creativity in commerce, anchored by WPP Open 

WPP has been named a Leader among commerce service providers in The Forrester Wave™: Commerce Services, Q2 2024 report. According to Forrester, WPP shines with flexible creativity in its commerce strategy anchored by WPP Open, the company’s intelligent marketing operating system.

The study assessed ten providers of commerce services based on their current offering, strategy and market presence, measuring providers against 24 criteria.

Among those evaluated, the research finds that WPP had the highest score in the current offering category and excels in overall commerce strategic strength, with additional strength in content production and in retail media. The Forrester report states that WPP uses “GroupM’s scale as a global media buyer and its own extensive retailer and marketplace relationships with Amazon and others to help brands and retailers optimize media and transactions.”

The company received the highest score attainable in data, analytics and AI criterion. The report noted that “WPP excels in overall commerce strategic strength, hitting on all cylinders, leading with genAI innovation in its Open platform, and rocking the technology and marketplace partner ecosystem”. WPP also received top scores possible in the social commerce, CRM services, talent strategy and global delivery strategy criteria. Additionally, Forrester noted the simplification of WPP’s commerce structure, with the company aggregating its commerce services under the VML brand following the merger of VMLY&R and Wunderman Thompson.

Stephan Pretorius, Chief Technology Officer at WPP, said: “WPP’s recognition as a leader in commerce services by Forrester validates for us our commerce strategy and investment in AI technologies, including WPP Open. In an increasingly complex omnichannel commerce landscape, the world’s leading brands rely on our network of over 15,000 experts worldwide to deploy pioneering commerce solutions that can engage audiences creatively, can be delivered on a global scale and can drive measurable growth.”

Neil Stewart, CEO of WPP Open, said: “We’re honoured that Forrester has recognised WPP as a leader in commerce services, powered by WPP Open. By combining WPP’s creative power with cutting-edge AI technology and real-time commerce data intelligence, we can craft seamless experiences that inspire consumers and accelerate sales across the entire path to purchase.

Christian Juhl, Global CEO of GroupM, said: “Today’s brands need a marketing partner that can deliver creative excellence while driving sales and growth across every commerce touchpoint. Forrester’s assessment of our capabilities underscores the the enormous amount of work we have put into integrating commerce into every part of our business. I’m proud of the focus and commitment from our team and collaboration across the broader WPP network to develop an offer that sets the standard for innovation in our industry and continues to deliver results for our clients and their customers.”

Around the world, WPP teams design, build and manage commerce experiences that generate more than $56 billion of online transactions annually, including $16.5 billion transaction value through Amazon and TMALL. The company works with 85 of its top 100 clients on ecommerce and collaborates with partners across all major commerce technology platforms including Adobe, Amazon, Alibaba, Salesforce, SAP, Shopify and Sitecore.