The ecommerce technology company Rokt announced it would acquire Canal, a San Francisco-based ecommerce platform. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, though the companies’ leaders heralded what the deal could mean for checkout and other experiences they are able to provide.
In North America, 34 of the Top 2000 online retailers use Rokt for online advertising, according to Digital Commerce 360 data. In 2024, those 34 online retailers combined for more than $48.02 billion in web sales. The Top 2000 is Digital Commerce 360’s database ranking North America’s largest online retailers by their annual ecommerce sales.
Why Rokt will acquire Canal
“This acquisition not only expands our products and the Rokt Network; it redefines the advantage we provide to our ecommerce partners,” said Bruce Buchanan, CEO and co-founder of Rokt. “By integrating Canal’s catalog with our AI-powered Rokt Brain, we’re unlocking a new level of relevancy that makes the shopping experience better for every consumer.”
Canal’s CEO echoed this optimism.
“Canal’s mission has always been to empower brands to sell anything, anywhere, by building the #1 platform for curated products,” said Bennett Carroccio, CEO and co-founder of Canal. “Joining forces with Rokt allows us to build on that mission.”
This strategic acquisition, according to a company press release, enables Rokt’s ecommerce partners to seamlessly broaden their product range by tapping into a curated network of third-party inventory from premium direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands, without taking on the burden of production, logistics or inventory management.
Past Rokt acquisitions
The purchase of Canal is just the latest in a shopping spree by Rokt, which has snapped up companies including mParticle and AfterSell over the past two years.
Industry experts view the Canal acquisition as part of an effort to build out ecommerce experience offerings. Max Sugrue, CEO of the product-discovery platform ChaChing, said that the deal will benefit consumers through enhanced post-purchase experiences.
“Post-purchase experiences drive a huge amount of revenue for brands by showing consumers relevant products or deals,” Sugrue noted.
He drew parallels to how companies such as Klaviyo have become major revenue drivers through post-order messaging.
The acquisition positions Rokt to deliver “excellent product cross-sells post-purchase,” according to Sugrue.
Strategic business implications for the acquisition
From Rokt’s perspective, the Canal acquisition represents a multifaceted strategic investment. Sugrue explained that Rokt is essentially “buying distribution, data, tools that’ll help them scale more with far fewer growing pains, and some product-line diversification.”
The synergy makes particular sense given that both Rokt and Canal serve the DTC and enterprise markets. He expects this overlap could create opportunities to cross-sell successful products and leverage existing client relationships. However, Sugrue also acknowledged potential challenges, stating that “there are a lot of integration risks between the companies,” even if “the potential benefits of a successful acquisition can be huge.”
Beyond client acquisition, Rokt stands to gain access to Canal’s backend technology infrastructure, including tools for product management and sales data analysis that could enhance Rokt’s existing offerings. The acquisition also strengthens Rokt’s artificial intelligence (AI) positioning — a factor that Sugrue believes “Rokt’s investors will undoubtedly love.”
Market consolidation effects
Rokt’s Canal deal’s broader B2B implications suggest significant market consolidation ahead, Sugrue said. He predicted that clients of both companies will likely “pay more and benefit more from having easy access and being introduced to more B2B products.”
The combined entity’s data advantages, derived from expanded network effects, may create insurmountable competitive barriers.
“It’s unlikely other competitors will be able to make similar acquisitions and compete,” Sugrue observes. If the synergies between Rokt and Canal are fully realized, it could “put a lot of competitor cart-optimization and marketplace companies out of business in the long run,” he said.
Brian Kroeker, president at Little Rock Printing, which is an ecommerce print shop in Arkansas, assessed that the B2B implications of the Rokt-Canal deal are significant.
“This deal signals that the next phase of ecommerce growth may not come from expanding catalog size, but from leveraging partnership commerce where brands sell one another’s products in-context,” Kroeker stated.
He added that for direct-to-consumer brands in particular, this acquisition means easier access to affiliate-like revenue models without the complexity of legacy affiliate networks.
“My final point is that as someone who manages ecommerce operations, I see this as a clear sign that the walls between brands are coming down and the brands that lean into collaboration will come out ahead,” Kroeker said.
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