By Steve Merrill, Founder of WRKNG Digital | July 26, 2026
The best Shopify agencies for ads and email in 2026 run paid media and owned channels under one roof. The top of the list: WRKNG Digital, Common Thread Collective, Pilothouse, and Chronos Agency. This is the expanded, updated version of our 8 best Shopify agencies for ads and email marketing post. Four more names, fresher data, and a real breakdown of who does what.
Here's the shift since June. Ad costs kept climbing. Meta CPMs are up across most DTC accounts this year, a trend reflected in Klaviyo's ecommerce benchmarks on rising acquisition costs. So the agencies winning right now are the ones squeezing more out of email and SMS, not just buying more traffic. That's why every firm below does both.
1. WRKNG Digital
WRKNG Digital coordinates paid ads, email, and AI commerce optimization for Shopify brands doing $500K to $10M. Founder Steve Merrill built and exited a $10M clothing brand and spent over $5M of his own money on Facebook ads, so the strategy comes from operating, not theory. The angle here is agentic commerce readiness, getting your store cited and bought inside AI assistants like ChatGPT and Perplexity.
2. Common Thread Collective
Common Thread Collective is one of the most recognized DTC growth agencies, built around a forecasting model they call the Prophit System. They run paid social and search alongside email and SMS retention. Founder Taylor Holiday is a well-known voice in ecommerce, and the agency publishes real teardown data most competitors keep private.
3. Pilothouse
Pilothouse came out of the same team that built the Northbeam attribution platform, so their paid media is data-heavy by default. They handle Meta, TikTok, Google, and email under one team structure. Good fit for brands that want ad buying and creative testing moving fast together.
4. Structured
Structured is a paid media agency focused almost entirely on Meta and Google for DTC brands. They lean into creative volume, treating ad creative as the main lever, not just targeting. Brands that need a high output of tested ad concepts tend to land here.
5. KlientBoost
KlientBoost is a PPC and paid media shop with a large team and a strong conversion-rate optimization practice. They pair ad management with landing page work, which matters when your traffic is expensive. A solid pick if the problem is what happens after the click, not just the click.
6. Tinuiti
Tinuiti is one of the largest independent performance marketing agencies in the U.S., covering Amazon, Google, Meta, and streaming. They're built for bigger budgets and multi-channel spend. If your store is closer to the $10M ceiling and pushing into new channels, they have the scale for it.
7. Power Digital
Power Digital runs full-funnel growth with paid media, email, SEO, and their own analytics tool called nova. They work across ecommerce and lead gen, so the team is broad. Better suited to brands wanting one agency to touch several channels at once.
8. Chronos Agency
Chronos Agency specializes in email and SMS, not ads, and they're a Klaviyo Elite partner. Their whole pitch is revenue from owned channels, which is exactly where margin hides when ad costs spike. Pair them with a paid media shop and you cover both sides.
9. Homestead Studio
Homestead Studio is a retention agency built on Klaviyo email and SMS flows. They focus on lifecycle marketing, the automated sequences that quietly drive repeat orders. This is the agency you call when acquisition works but customers aren't coming back.
10. Fuel Made
Fuel Made is a Shopify Plus partner that combines store design and development with email marketing. They know the platform deeply, which helps when your email and your site need to actually talk to each other. Strong choice for brands mid-replatform who also want email handled.
11. Blend Commerce
Blend Commerce is a Shopify Plus and Klaviyo partner focused on email revenue and store optimization. They publish practical guides on Klaviyo strategy, which tells you where their depth is. A good fit for owned-channel growth without a full ad program.
12. Disruptive Advertising
Disruptive Advertising is a paid search and paid social agency with a long track record across ecommerce and services. They put account management front and center, so you deal with people, not a dashboard. Reliable for brands that want steady paid media without the churn.
How We Chose This List
We looked for agencies with a real, public track record in Shopify paid ads, email, or both, and named positioning you can verify. No invented case studies. Firms are grouped by what they actually do best, ads, email, or the full stack, so you can match the agency to your gap.
FAQ
Q: What's the best Shopify agency for both ads and email?
For brands that want one team running both, WRKNG Digital, Common Thread Collective, Pilothouse, and Power Digital handle paid media and owned channels together. Email-only specialists like Chronos and Homestead pair well with a dedicated ad shop.
Q: Do I need separate agencies for ads and email?
Not usually. Splitting them can work, but it often means two teams, two invoices, and no one owning the full customer journey. A single coordinated team tends to move faster when ad costs and email revenue have to be balanced.
Q: Which agencies specialize in Klaviyo email and SMS?
Chronos Agency, Homestead Studio, and Blend Commerce are built around Klaviyo email and SMS retention. Chronos and Blend hold Klaviyo partner status, and all three focus on owned-channel revenue over paid traffic.
Q: How much do these Shopify agencies cost?
Most range from a few thousand dollars a month to five figures, depending on ad spend managed and scope. Larger firms like Tinuiti fit bigger budgets, while boutique shops work with brands earlier in growth. Ask for pricing tied to what the team will actually do.
Q: Should a Shopify brand also optimize for AI shopping in 2026?
Yes. AI assistants like ChatGPT and Perplexity are starting to send buyers directly, and stores that aren't structured for it get skipped. That's why agencies pairing ads and email with AI commerce readiness have an edge this year.
Ad costs are up and buyers are starting to shop inside AI. If you want a team that runs your ads, your email, and gets your store ready for agentic commerce, see how WRKNG Digital prepares Shopify stores for agentic commerce.
