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Mercado Libre is bullish about growth opportunities: The ecommerce giant is making massive investments to extend its dominance of the Latin American market.

How will tariffs affect prominent ecommerce players like Mercado Libre? Tariffs will make US brands less competitive in Latin America, forcing players like Mercado Libre to adjust their international seller acquisition strategies and navigate new pricing pressures. Mercado Libre could use this moment to position itself as the go-to platform for cross-border ecommerce between the US and Latin America.

Mercado Libre, which combines data from its digital marketplace and fintech arm, Mercado Pago, to build richer audience profiles and enable more precise ad targeting across its ecosystem. Rappi and DiDi go even further, operating across retail, banking, and travel.

One of Latin America鈥檚 most successful fintechs is Mercado Libre-owned digital wallet provider Mercado Pago, which boasts 61.2 million monthly active users. The rollout of instant payment systems is poised to drive even greater digital wallet adoption across Latin America.

Mercado Libre鈥檚 retail business is thriving: Advertising revenues rose 50% YoY in Q1, and there鈥檚 ample room for growth.

Mercado Libre and Reddit, the two projected front-runners, have a much smoother path ahead鈥攁lthough both are growing from a small base. Mercado Libre will lead in growth again in 2026. Click here to view our full forecast for digital ad revenue growth by company worldwide. Retail media and social media ad platforms will dominate the top 10 list for growth.

Mercado Libre. YouGov.

Mercado Libre will be the primary beneficiary of this regional largesse. Retail media鈥檚 share of digital ad spending is significant everywhere. China remains an extreme outlier, but every country we track will see annual increases in retail media penetration. None but China will likely reach a 50% digital ad spend share for retail media鈥攂ut all will see that share rise going forward.

Its share is much lower in Latin America, where Mercado Libre has emerged as a dominant force. The retail media market is starting to fragment outside of Amazon鈥檚 footprint. This is partly due to large domestic retailers investing in media networks. This includes Loblaw Advance and Canadian Tire鈥檚 Triangle Media, which provide a range of advertising options by tapping into loyalty programs.

Mercado Libre. OXXO. Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE). Sodimac. Spotify. Televisa.

Mercado Libre, which combines data from its digital marketplace and fintech arm, Mercado Pago, to build richer audience profiles and enable more precise ad targeting across its ecosystem. Rappi and DiDi go even further, operating across retail, banking, and travel.

The retailer鈥檚 ecommerce infrastructure is outdated, complicating its efforts to double sales by 2033 and close the gap with Amazon and Mercado Libre. Some of the $6 billion will go toward the opening of two advanced distribution centers in Baj铆o and Tlaxcala, which will use advanced robotics and AI technologies.

Over two-thirds (68.1%) of global digital shoppers bought from a marketplace like Amazon, Walmart, or Mercado Libre in the past year, according to our 鈥淕lobal Shopper Survey 2025鈥� report. "Marketplaces are doing really well because they offer convenience, competitive pricing, and a vast selection of products," said our analyst Carina Perkins.

Mercado Libre will invest a record-breaking $2.45 billion (MXN 43.45 billion) in Mexico this year to grow its logistics network, strengthen Mercado Pago (its payment app), and expand technology capabilities. Between 2017 and 2024, Mercado Libre will have invested $7.72 billion (MXN 136.90 billion) into its operations in Mexico鈥攖he largest amount by far among its peers.

Mercado Libre will account for 66.5% of ecommerce sales in Argentina this year: Amazon sees an opportunity to chip away at that share by offering a $5 flat international shipping rate.

Alibaba鈥檚 retail ecommerce sales in China were nearly twice that of Amazon鈥檚 worldwide in 2022, at $1.229 trillion compared with about $657 billion, per our estimates. Latin American competitor Mercado Libre had significantly less ecommerce sales, at nearly $35 billion.

Although no single player rivals Mercado Libre鈥檚 hold on Latin America鈥檚 ecommerce market, nearly 70% of online sales are still fair game for the long tail of retailers.

Mercado Libre is beating Amazon at its own game in Latin America: The former is expected to represent more than half of all retail media ad spending in the region, while the latter continues to lose share to local players in Brazil and Mexico.

That鈥檚 not the case in other markets鈥攍ike Latin America, where Mercado Libre is a homegrown juggernaut. Amazon鈥檚 C$51 billion ($37.78 billion) in gross merchandise value makes up more than 5% of total retail. By that measure, it is the largest mass merchandiser in the country, ahead of Walmart and trailing only Loblaw Companies Ltd.

Brazil鈥檚 digital economy continues to thrive, driven by shifting advertising trends and increased social media usage. This report series explores key media consumption trends in Brazil in 2025.

Brazil鈥檚 digital economy is rapidly evolving, fueled in part by ecommerce growth. Our three-report collection explores key trends and opportunities shaping Brazil鈥檚 commerce landscape in 2025.