Publicis Groupe is set to acquire Mars United Commerce, the world’s largest independent commerce marketing company, the holding company announced. Publicis declined to share the terms of the deal.

Mars United Commerce’s clients include Mars Wrigley, Samsung and Walmart, whose U.S. media is handled by Publicis. Formerly known as The Mars Agency, Mars United Commerce rebranded in May to help promote its global reach and capabilities. The agency was founded in 1973 and has grown to more than 1,000 employees in 15 global offices. 

The Mars United Commerce brand will remain unchanged, a Publicis spokeswoman confirmed.

The move marks Publicis’ second major acquisition this year. It agreed to acquire Influential, then the world’s largest influencer agency by revenue, for an undisclosed amount in July.

Acquiring Mars United will allow Publicis to integrate Mars’ commerce data and offerings with its media and performance capabilities, as well as its Epsilon data, to help clients better understand a consumer’s full path to purchase.

Publicis believes both acquisitions will allow it to better serve its clients with “the new media channels that work hardest for their business: connected TV, commerce and creators,” Publicis CEO Arthur Sadoun said in a statement.

Building out commerce and retail media capabilities has become critical for holding companies. Last year, Omnicom struck its largest deal ever when it agreed to acquire digital commerce giant Flywheel Digital for $835 million. Publicis has also been building its expertise in this area over the years with acquisitions of CitrusAd and Profitero.

“Joining Publicis Groupe will help Mars realize our vision of being the preeminent global commerce company faster and more completely,” Mars United Commerce’s Global CEO Rob Rivenburgh said in a statement. Rivenburgh will remain in his role as global CEO.

It’s no surprise holding companies are pushing to better understand the consumer purchase journey, given that global e-commerce sales are projected to reach $6.86 trillion in 2025, according to a recent Shopify report. 

Retail media networks, or ad platforms owned by retailers, are also popping up more as data becomes more important to advertisers. However, the increase in these networks has also increased the level of scrutiny around the role they play in large media agency reviews.