Retail Media Network Tech Firms Neptune, Quotient “Combine” In $430M Deal

June 26, 2023 by Dave Haynes

A couple of retail media network technology firms have “combined” – with NYC-based Neptune Retail Solutions reaching an agreement to acquire the Salt Lake City firm Quotient in an all-cash deal valued at about $430 million.

Neptune has a pile of in-store solutions and services that range from stickers and tags on products at shelves to on-premise ads and promotions on digital displays, backed by shopper data. Quotient markets an omnichannel platform built around what it says is exclusive consumer spending data, location intelligence and purchase intent data.

“The combination of Quotient and Neptune brings together our innovative technology platform, extensive digital promotions retail network, and proprietary data with Neptune’s broad in-store network and deep data-driven shopper marketing insights across in-store and print media,” says Quotient CEO Matt Krepsik in a mass email to customers and business partners. “We believe the combination will increase the scale of our business and network, enabling us to engage more consumers, with more digital and physical touchpoints throughout the path to purchase, providing greater value and results to our CPG partners.”

Bill Redmond, CEO of Neptune, says the plan is to “seamlessly integrate Quotient’s team, product suite, and retail partners with Neptune’s omnichannel network. The combination further advances our proven commitment to retailers and advertisers to drive profitable, incremental, and measurable growth, while deepening relationships with and value for consumers.”

The relevance for the digital signage and digital OOH communities is the consolidation and bolstering of solutions stacks being sold into large retailers and referenced as retail media networks. These are essentially retailer-owned ad networks that allow marketers to plan and place ads across all digital assets owned by that retailer – from online and mobile to in-store screens – off one platform. The networks have access to first-party data about shopper journeys, enabling more targeted and timely messaging.

Many to most digital signage technology companies consider retail a primary vertical, and it is increasingly important to offer solutions that can plug into and work seamlessly with these retail media networks. Retailers are going to want, understandably, solutions that are streamlined and allow planning and placement across all digital channels – not platforms that perhaps only do one component, like in-store screens.