What Commerce12 does

Commerce12 is a privately held ecommerce agency founded in 2016 and headquartered in Rockville, Maryland, that creates, maintains, and grows fashion, beauty and lifestyle brands. The company operates as a B2B professional services provider, generating revenue through agency fees and project- or retainer-based engagements with ecommerce brands seeking digital commerce expertise. Its go-to-market is enterprise field sales, relying on direct business development and client relationships to acquire customers. The acquisition of Cipher Industries (DBA Tetra) in June 2022 added dedicated email and SMS marketing capabilities, which now form the agency's primary differentiated service line alongside its broader ecommerce brand-building offerings.

The company's underlying technology stack is service-delivery oriented rather than platform-based; no proprietary software, APIs, SDKs, or integrations are disclosed. Core service categories are email marketing, SMS marketing, and general ecommerce agency work, delivered by a team that expanded from 30 to 45 employees during a strategic growth phase through 2022. No pricing, certifications, patents, regulatory actions, or technology partnerships are publicly disclosed. The customer base is described as a horizontal segment of ecommerce brands, with no named logos or contract values available.

Commercially, Commerce12 is privately held with no disclosed external investors, parent company, or capital structure. Reported operating metrics include a 350% revenue increase over three years and a 50% headcount increase, both indicative of a scaling agency in a high-growth phase, though no absolute revenue, ARR, or profitability figures are disclosed. Leadership disclosed includes Adam Hanin as Founder and Operating Partner and Jonathan Tipton as CFO. The data set contains material gaps — no AI capabilities, no named customers, no absolute financials — that constrain deeper investment-grade analysis.

Name

Commerce12

Website

https://commerce12.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Commerce12 is a Rockville, Maryland-based ecommerce agency founded in 2016 that creates, maintains, and grows fashion, beauty, and lifestyle brands through professional services and email/SMS marketing capabilities acquired via Tetra.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Ecommerce Agency Services

NAICS

Retail Trade (44-45)

SIC

Retail-Nonstore Retailers (5960)

akta.pro primary industry

Marketplace Enablement, Seller Tools & E-commerce Infrastructure (BPAMAGAK)

Keywords

• Ecommerce agency services
• Email marketing solutions
• SMS marketing services
• Shopify development
• Brand growth strategy

Headquarters

HQ city

Rockville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Ecommerce Agency Services: Commerce12 operates as an ecommerce agency providing digital commerce services to clients. Revenue is generated through professional services and agency fees.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Commerce12 is a privately held ecommerce agency that creates, maintains, and grows fashion, beauty, and lifestyle brands through digital commerce services. The firm delivers full-service ecommerce operations, brand growth, and lifecycle marketing, with specialized email and SMS marketing capabilities expanded through its June 2022 acquisition of Cipher Industries (DBA Tetra).

Product overview

Commerce12 is an ecommerce agency offering marketing services. The agency operates as a single unified service offering, with its primary capability enhancement coming from the acquired Tetra (Cipher Industries) email marketing agency, which provides email and SMS marketing services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Commerce12 Ecommerce Agency Services Full-service ecommerce agency offering for fashion, beauty, and lifestyle brands, focused on creating, maintaining, and growing direct-to-consumer brand businesses through digital commerce and lifecycle marketing.
• Tetra Email and SMS Marketing Services Email and SMS marketing services for ecommerce brands, delivered under the Tetra brand (formerly Cipher Industries), acquired by Commerce12 to extend lifecycle marketing capabilities.

Quantifiable outcome

• 350% revenue increase over three years

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Cipher Industries (DBA Tetra)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2022Commerce12 acquired Cipher Industries, DBA Tetra, an email marketing agency, to enhance its email and SMS marketing capabilities. This acquisition is part of Commerce12's strategic growth plan to expand service offerings.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Vaimo: Vaimo is a global digital commerce agency and one of the largest Shopify Plus partners, offering end-to-end e-commerce implementation, marketing, and optimization services to enterprise brands - directly comparable to Commerce12's e-commerce agency model.
• Lounge Group: Lounge Group is a digital commerce and Shopify agency with operations across Australia and internationally, offering similar storefront and e-commerce enablement services to Commerce12's brand clients.
• Blue Wheel Media: Blue Wheel is a digital marketing agency specializing in e-commerce, with strong emphasis on Amazon, paid media, and email/SMS marketing for direct-to-consumer brands, closely overlapping Commerce12's service portfolio.
• Anvil Media: Anvil Media is a digital marketing agency with practice areas in paid media, email, and e-commerce strategy for direct-to-consumer brands, overlapping with Commerce12's full-funnel e-commerce service mix.
• ehouse Studio: ehouse Studio is a Shopify agency and digital commerce expert serving fashion and lifestyle brands with storefront builds and unified commerce services, making it a near-direct functional peer to Commerce12.
• The Stable: The Stable is a digital commerce agency serving consumer brands across storefront, content, and marketing - a direct comparable to Commerce12's enablement, marketing, and growth focus for DTC brands.
• Avalanche Creative: Avalanche Creative is a digital commerce agency delivering Shopify storefront builds and digital marketing services to mid-market DTC brands, a comparable peer to Commerce12's fashion/lifestyle vertical focus.

Broad incumbents

• Wpromote: Wpromote is a large, full-service digital marketing agency with deep e-commerce practice areas covering paid media, SEO, and email - an incumbent peer operating in Commerce12's category but at meaningfully broader scale.
• Tinuiti: Tinuiti is a large performance marketing agency with significant e-commerce and email/SMS marketing capabilities across major retail and DTC clients, serving as a broad incumbent to Commerce12.
• GroupM: GroupM is WPP's media investment group providing large-scale e-commerce, digital, and direct marketing services - a broad incumbent competing for the same enterprise e-commerce marketing budgets that Commerce12 targets.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A1 record

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Commerce12