The next battleground in retail advertising may not be another digital channel. It may be the store itself.
Perion has acquired PRN, an in-store retail media company, in a deal valued at up to $12 million. The acquisition gives Perion access to exclusive, multi-year in-store media agreements across major North American retail and healthcare environments, expanding its advertising footprint from digital screens and connected TV to the physical locations where consumers make purchasing decisions.
The transaction is part of Perion’s broader effort to connect its advertising capabilities across the consumer journey. The company already operates across CTV, digital out-of-home, commerce, social and digital environments. With PRN, it is adding another layer: screens positioned directly inside stores.
That matters because physical retail still accounts for more than 80% of U.S. retail commerce, according to Perion. As brands increasingly look for campaigns that can follow consumers across multiple environments, in-store media offers a way to bring advertising closer to the moment when consideration turns into a purchase.
Building A North American Store Network
PRN gives Perion an established footprint across several retail categories, including warehouse clubs, big-box stores, pharmacy, consumer electronics and grocery.
The network includes a top warehouse club’s 4K television network across more than 750 locations in North America, a top big-box retailer spanning more than 4,500 stores, and a leading national healthcare retailer across more than 2,200 stores.
Perion said these relationships also expand its exposure to three major advertising categories: Commerce, consumer packaged goods and Health Care.
The company is particularly emphasizing the exclusivity of the inventory. The acquisition adds multi-year agreements with national-scale retailers, giving Perion access to point-of-purchase environments that can be incorporated into broader advertising campaigns.
For Perion, the opportunity is less about simply adding more screens and more about connecting different types of screens into a single advertising infrastructure.
From the Commute to the Shelf
The company describes the strategy as a way to cover the “full last mile” of the consumer journey.
A shopper might encounter an advertisement through programmatic digital out-of-home media while traveling, see another campaign through connected TV or social media, and eventually encounter an in-store message while comparing products. Perion’s goal is to bring those touchpoints together within a single execution layer.
With PRN, the company said its offering will span programmatic DOOH, commerce, social, in-store retail media, CTV and direct demand relationships.
Over time, Perion also expects to bring programmatic execution into in-store retail media. That effort will operate within the individual rules retailers establish around content, frequency and the store environment.
The distinction is important. In-store advertising has to coexist with the physical shopping experience, meaning retailers retain control over what appears in their locations.
The Economics Behind the Deal
Perion is paying up to $12 million in cash at closing, subject to customary purchase price adjustments, with the transaction structured on a cash-free and debt-free basis. The company expects the acquisition to be accretive from closing and does not expect it to materially change its full-year 2026 outlook.
The company expects PRN to contribute approximately $3 million to Adjusted EBITDA in 2027 before synergies. Perion said the all-cash structure is intended to simplify the integration process and allow resources to be focused on integration and value creation.
PRN will operate as Perion Retail Networks following the transaction, with no disruption planned for existing retailer or advertiser relationships.
The acquisition also expands Perion’s addressable market within the more than $70 billion U.S. retail media market, according to the company.
Closing the Gap Between Advertising and Purchase
For Tal Jacobson, CEO of Perion, the strategic value of the acquisition comes down to proximity to the purchase decision.
“The PRN acquisition checks all the boxes – Strategic, Synergetic and Profitable from day one. PRN gives us the ultimate channel before any decision to purchase,” said Jacobson.
“Our intent is to leverage the breadth of our channel offering, including CTV and digital out-of-home, so a brand can execute a single campaign from the living room to the shelf. For retailers, it means curated monetization that protects the store environment. This expands our TAM across the retail media market and opens budgets that have not historically been programmatically addressable. I want to welcome the talented team of PRN as they join our journey to provide the best solutions for advertisers worldwide.”
PRN CEO Kevin Carbone similarly framed the deal around the changing expectations of marketers.
“Joining Perion will allow us to deliver greater overall value to our retailers and advertisers,” said Carbone. “Marketers want to plan in-store advertising the way they plan every other channel. Perion brings the demand and the execution to make that possible, while retailers keep the same control over what runs in their stores.”
The acquisition gives Perion another piece of the omnichannel advertising puzzle. Its significance may ultimately depend on how effectively the company can connect those digital and physical environments while preserving the controls that retailers require. For now, the strategy is clear: move the campaign closer to the shelf and make the point of purchase part of the media plan.
