According to Perch Interactive, retailers are on a spending spree. Acquisitions are up as the retail sector continues to grow at a faster pace than anyone has seen in more than a decade.  In a recent blog post, the retail gurus at Perch Interactive noted that brands like Nike, Nordstrom, and L’Oréal have been snapping up retail technology brands like Invertex, Modiface, MessageUp, and BevyYes to enhance their competitive edge.

While these brands could have licensed the technology, rather than acquired it outright, the acquisitions strategy could be the right one for the time. Acquiring the technology outright reduces the time to deployment. By acquiring the whole organization brands not only get the technology but the people who designed, built, and implemented it. But then there’s Home Depot. They’re taking a different approach and fueling their growth by expanding its tech team by over 40 percent – that’s 1000 new team members – and rivaling Amazon’s investment in retail technology.

But the real question is why are brands and retailers so interested in tech acquisitions and not ad tech or advertising in general?

You can find the answer to that question here.