Radio’s march into the digital realm continued yesterday, as Nova made a bold step into the world of eCommerce with the launch of the retail and promotion-pushing ‘ShopperNova’ mobile app. It looks like ARN are hot on their heels, with the announcement that their parent company, APN, has acquired a majority stake in brandsExclusive, an online shopping club which is one of the fastest growing businesses in Australia.

APN Chief Executive, Brett Chenoweth said “This investment is a significant move towards repositioning APN for growth and will substantially ramp up our digital revenue and earnings trajectory. We believe there is tremendous value to be unlocked in the global shift towards eCommerce, which will be a core part of the digital media landscape in the future. I expect this will be one of the largest digital deals in Australia this year, emphasizing the importance which we place on having the right digital assets.”

The move appears destined to influence ARN’s Mix FM and Classic Hits stations, with APN Chief Development Officer, Matt Crockett claiming, “The acquisition of brandsExclusive reflects our strategy of connecting existing media assets with high growth digital transaction businesses. brandsExclusive is one of the best eCommerce assets in Australasia and we are delighted to bring it into our growing digital portfolio.”

With 1.8 million members already, with an additional 70,000 joining each month, this could prove to be an excellent investment on APN’s initial layout of $36m.