Shopper and experience agency Geometry is the latest to be merged by its parent holding company WPP – the shop will now be referred to as VMLY&R Commerce.

VMLY&R Commerce will be a “distinct company within the VMLY&R global network” that works closely with the parent agency to offer their combined capabilities to clients, especially when it comes to ecommerce.

VMLY&R does not have a presence in Canada, but VMLY&R Commerce’s office in Toronto and Montreal will instead work closely with Taxi – which remained a distinct entity following the 2018 merger between VML and Y&R but remains part of the VMLY&R global network and its P&L within WPP.

More details about leadership of the new entity within Canada, which aims to be operational by Jan. 1, will be shared in the coming weeks. Globally, it will be led by Beth Ann Kaminkow, who will retain her role as CEO.

“Consumer experiences today are centred on commerce, making it increasingly important to our clients’ marketing and media decisions,” Kaminkow said in an announcement about why this kind of offering is even more relevant today. “As the pandemic accelerates new consumer behaviours and expectations, commerce is fast becoming the next channel for the most creative engagements and experiences.”

According to WPP’s announcement, Geometry has been a key partner to clients that are navigating the many changes with regards to shopping and ecommerce this year, while VMLY&R has had “substantial momentum” in its customer experience business. While ecommerce has obviously become a priority for clients in the last year, Geometry’s “Living Commerce” approach – which aims to understand consumer behaviour regardless of where they do their buying and uses multiple disciplines to deliver on those insights – will remain a central differentiator for VMLY&R Commerce.

The move is also the latest by WPP over the last two years to simplify its structure and save on operational costs through merging its largest agency brands. After beginning with the creation of VMLY&R and Wunderman Thompson in 2018, the holding co continued that strategy earlier this month with the merger of AKQA and Grey.