Merkle

What Merkle does

Merkle is a customer experience transformation agency that designs, executes, and evaluates integrated marketing and CX programs for enterprise clients across nine verticals including Retail/CPG, Financial Services, B2B, High Tech, Travel & Hospitality, Health, Automotive, Media & Entertainment, and Nonprofit. The company operates as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dentsu Group Inc. (Tokyo Stock Exchange: 4324) and is headquartered in Columbia, MD, with 16,000+ employees globally. Named enterprise clients include Six Flags, Denny's, Satair, Volvo Trucks, KFC, Under Armour, Signify (Philips), Siemens, Sherwin-Williams, and the World Wildlife Fund.

Merkle's technology stack centers on three proprietary offerings: Merkury (an enterprise identity resolution and customer data platform unifying customer profiles across channels and devices), LoyaltyPlus (a loyalty program management and optimization platform), and Experience Concierge for Retail (an AI-powered conversational and immersive commerce solution co-developed with Adobe Experience Cloud and Creative Cloud, launched in March 2026). The company delivers services across six capability areas: Consulting & Business Operations, Experience & Product Design, Engagement & Loyalty, Platforms & Engineering, Analytics & Insights, and the Merkury platform. Deep core-tier partnerships with Adobe, Salesforce, Snowflake, Mirakl, AWS, Google, and Shopify anchor implementation and managed services delivery, while supporting partnerships with Braze, Qualtrics, Pega, Contentful, Figma, Sitecore, Treasure AI, Uniphore, Zeta, Level Access, and Siteimprove extend the ecosystem.

Merkle's revenue model combines professional services (consulting, implementation, and managed services for CX transformation, technology integration, analytics, and business operations) with subscription and recurring technology revenue from proprietary platforms (Merkury, LoyaltyPlus) and partner-based technology solutions. Pricing is custom and quote-based for enterprise clients, with annual billing cadence, and no public pricing tiers are disclosed. The company pursues an enterprise field sales GTM through dedicated sales teams, with global distribution leverage from the Dentsu parent. Recent inorganic moves include acquisitions of Shift7 Digital (April 2023), Aware Services (December 2022), a majority stake in Extentia (August 2022), and LiveArea (2021), alongside the May 2026 ANZ restructuring that integrated Merkle into Dentsu's Australian and New Zealand operations and divested the regional Salesforce practice to Enduring Ventures.

Name

Merkle

Legal name

Merkle, Inc.

Website

https://merkleinc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

Merkle is an enterprise customer experience transformation agency and wholly-owned subsidiary of Dentsu Group Inc., delivering CX consulting, proprietary platforms (Merkury identity resolution, LoyaltyPlus, Experience Concierge for Retail), and technology implementation across nine industry verticals for large global brands.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Customer Experience Services

NAICS

Marketing Consulting Services (541613), Custom Computer Programming Services (541511), Software Publishers (5132), Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services (541611)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Computer Programming Services (7371)

akta.pro primary industry

Customer Experience (CX) & Journey Strategy (MPAAAFAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Customer Experience (CX) & Digital Experience (BPAHAEAC), Customer Experience (CX) & Voice of Customer (NPS/CSAT, Journey Research) (MPAAALAH), Enterprise Application Reporting, BI & Analytics Enablement (BPAEAGAK), Brand Experience (BX) & Service Design (BPAFAEAI)

Keywords

• Customer experience services
• Data-driven marketing
• Loyalty program management
• Digital commerce consulting
• Enterprise identity resolution

Headquarters

HQ city

Columbia

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Professional Services: Consulting and implementation services for CX transformation, technology integration, analytics, and business operations. B2B enterprise engagement model with long-term client relationships.
2. Technology Solutions: Proprietary platforms including Merkur and LoyaltyPlus, plus technology implementation and managed services around partner ecosystems (Salesforce, Adobe, Snowflake, etc.)

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Merkle designs, executes, and evaluates integrated customer experience (CX) transformation programs for enterprise clients, combining strategy consulting with proprietary technology platforms and partner ecosystem implementations. Core offerings include enterprise identity resolution (Merkury), loyalty management (LoyaltyPlus), AI-powered conversational commerce (Experience Concierge for Retail), and service capabilities across consulting, experience design, engagement, platform engineering, and analytics.

Product overview

Merkle is a customer experience transformation company operating as a dentsu company, offering a portfolio of proprietary platforms and service modules alongside technology partnership integrations. Core proprietary offerings include Merkury (enterprise identity resolution), LoyaltyPlus™ (loyalty management), and Experience Concierge for Retail (AI-powered conversational commerce). The company delivers services across six capability areas: Consulting & Business Operations, Experience & Product Design, Engagement & Loyalty, Platforms & Engineering, Analytics & Insights, and proprietary Merkury identity platform. Following the 2023 acquisition of Shift7 Digital, Merkle expanded its B2B transformation capabilities with focus on digital commerce, product information management, and multi-cloud solutions. Industry-specific CX solutions are delivered through Adobe Experience Cloud partnerships, while broader technology integrations span Salesforce, Snowflake, Mirakl, and other enterprise platforms.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Merkury: Enterprise identity resolution and customer data platform
• LoyaltyPlus™
• Experience Concierge

Products and services

• Merkury Enterprise identity resolution and customer data unification platform that enables brands to connect customer data across channels and devices to power personalized experiences at scale.
• LoyaltyPlus Customer loyalty program management and engagement platform that enables brands to design, manage, and optimize loyalty programs with data-driven engagement strategies.
• Experience Concierge for Retail AI-powered conversational retail solution that leverages Adobe Experience Cloud and Creative Cloud to transform shopping through conversational agents and immersive experiences for retail clients.
• Shift7 Digital B2B marketing and sales modernization consultancy specializing in digital commerce, product information management (PIM), and multi-cloud solutions, brought into Merkle's Experience and Commerce practice.
• Consulting & Business Operations Strategic consulting services for business operations transformation and optimization, helping enterprise clients align operating models with customer experience strategy.
• Experience & Product Design Customer experience and product design services for creating unified brand experiences across digital and physical touchpoints for enterprise clients.
• Engagement & Loyalty Services Customer engagement and loyalty program design and implementation services supporting enterprise brands in building lasting customer relationships.
• Platforms & Engineering Technology platform implementation and engineering services including Salesforce, Adobe, and commerce platform integrations for enterprise clients.
• Analytics & Insights Data analytics and business intelligence services for customer experience measurement, optimization, and decision support for enterprise clients.

Quantifiable outcome

• 87% uplift in end conversion rate on desktop for WWF donation experience reordering test
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments9 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

AI capability10 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

18 partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• AdobecoreTechnology or IntegrationStrategic partnership integrating Adobe Experience Cloud and Creative Cloud with Merkle's CX transformation and data science capabilities. Joint industry-specific solutions including Experience Concierge for Retail with AI-powered conversational agents.
• SalesforcecoreTechnology or IntegrationLong-standing partnership providing Salesforce solutions including implementation, consulting, and managed services. Merkle is a major Salesforce implementation partner globally. ANZ Salesforce practice being sold to Enduring Ventures in 2026.
• SnowflakecoreTechnology or IntegrationTechnology partnership providing data platform capabilities for enterprise analytics and AI initiatives. Merkle listed among Snowflake Intelligence Partner Solutions.
• MiraklcoreTechnology or IntegrationPartnership for marketplace commerce solutions. Merkle supports implementation of Mirakl-powered marketplaces for enterprise retailers. Joint research on AI commerce readiness.
• SiteimprovesupportingImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerSiteimprove's AI-powered accessibility platform helps Merkle prepare for European Accessibility Act compliance. Collaboration on diagnostics, remediation, and monitoring.
• Level AccesssupportingTechnology or IntegrationMerkle joined Level Access Partner Program for digital accessibility solutions. Partnership supports accessibility compliance and inclusive digital experiences.
• AWScoreTechnology or IntegrationCloud infrastructure partnership providing AWS capabilities for enterprise technology implementations.
• GooglecoreTechnology or IntegrationTechnology partnership for enterprise marketing and analytics solutions integration.
• ShopifycoreTechnology or IntegrationE-commerce platform partnership for direct-to-consumer and retail commerce solutions.
• BrazesupportingTechnology or IntegrationCustomer engagement platform partnership for cross-channel marketing and personalization.
• QualtricssupportingTechnology or IntegrationExperience management platform partnership for customer experience analytics and insights.
• PegasupportingTechnology or IntegrationCustomer engagement and automation platform partnership for enterprise marketing operations.
• ContentfulsupportingTechnology or IntegrationContent management platform partnership for digital experience development.
• FigmasupportingTechnology or IntegrationDesign platform partnership for experience and product design collaboration.
• SitecoresupportingTechnology or IntegrationContent management and digital experience platform partnership.
• Treasure AIsupportingTechnology or IntegrationAI-powered marketing optimization partnership for retail intelligence and personalization.
• UniphoresupportingTechnology or IntegrationConversational AI and analytics partnership for customer engagement solutions.
• ZetasupportingTechnology or IntegrationMarketing technology partnership for customer identity and activation solutions.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Accenture Song: Accenture's experience and creative services arm offering end-to-end CX transformation, digital marketing, and commerce implementation for global enterprises. Directly comparable to Merkle in scope of CX consulting, technology integration, and managed services across the same enterprise buyer base.
• Deloitte Digital: Deloitte's digital transformation practice delivering CX strategy, martech implementation (Adobe, Salesforce), and analytics at enterprise scale. Comparable to Merkle on the consulting-plus-implementation model and enterprise client base, though delivered under a Big Four umbrella.
• IBM iX (IBM Consulting): IBM's experience design and digital transformation arm providing CX strategy, AI/data platforms, and Adobe/Salesforce implementation. Overlaps significantly with Merkle on technology-led CX modernization for regulated and large enterprise clients.
• Capgemini Invent: Digital innovation and transformation arm of Capgemini delivering CX strategy, data/AI, and platform engineering for global enterprises. Comparable to Merkle on enterprise CX consulting, Adobe/Salesforce delivery, and large-scale transformation programs.

Direct peers

• Publicis Sapient: Digital business transformation firm within Publicis Groupe that helps enterprises modernize customer experience, data, and commerce platforms. Closely mirrors Merkle's mix of consulting, platform engineering (Salesforce/Adobe), and analytics services for large global brands.
• Epsilon (Publicis): Epsilon is a marketing and data services firm within Publicis Groupe specializing in identity, data, and performance marketing for large brands. Highly comparable to Merkle on the Merkury-style identity resolution capability and enterprise martech services portfolio.
• VMLY&R (WPP): WPP's brand experience and commerce agency offering CX strategy, creative, and technology services including commerce implementation. Competes head-to-head with Merkle for enterprise CX mandates within the WPP network structure analogous to Merkle's Dentsu relationship.
• Slalom: Business and technology consulting firm with strong CX, data, and cloud practices serving mid-to-large enterprises. Comparable to Merkle on consultative CX transformation and analytics engagements, though typically smaller in scale and with a more regional delivery footprint.

Emerging players

• Cognizant Interactive: Cognizant's digital experience practice delivering CX strategy, design, and martech implementation services. Comparable to Merkle in target enterprise clients and Adobe/Salesforce delivery model, though often leveraged through Cognizant's broader IT services scale.
• Infosys Digital (Experience & Design): Infosys's digital experience services covering CX design, martech, and commerce implementation. Comparable to Merkle on enterprise customer engagement work and partner-led delivery with Adobe/Salesforce, often competing on global delivery economics.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/merkleCRM
• Facebookfacebook.com/merkleinc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds11 records

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A24 records

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Merkle