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From the rise of sophisticated AI-driven tools to new policies reshaping data privacy and competition, 2025 promises to be a year of relentless change. Companies that adapt will thrive, while others risk being left behind in a swiftly moving market.

Amid real challenges, retailers get a glimmer of good news: Retail sales rose 4.2% YoY in January, and spending at restaurants and bars jumped 5.4% YoY.

Latin America will continue to populate much of the high-growth leader board. For the past couple years, most ad spending forecasts have featured India and Latin America as the geographies to watch. That continues to be the case, although Latin America’s outlook trails India by a wider margin than in previous estimates.

Prosus to buy Just Eat Takeaway for $4.3 billion: The firm plans to reuse the playbook that drove growth at its Brazilian food delivery company iFood.

Chipotle and Taco Bell’s same-store sales grew around 5% in Q4: Chipotle’s smoked brisket and Taco Bell’s nostalgic menu items proved to be customer magnets.

Shein regains access to India for the first time since 2020: The move comes at the same time that it faces significant challenges in both the US and EU.

Retailers brace for headwinds: Companies ranging from Amazon to Whirlpool are preparing for multiple challenges that could pressure consumer spending and their bottom lines.

Among internet users, podcasts will essentially be just as popular in Latin America as in Western Europe (28.2% versus 30.3% in 2023). Outside of China, most of the fastest podcast growth in the world will come from Latin America for the next several years.

International performance, particularly in China and Latin America, continues to drive global box office recovery. Marketing innovations, including localized campaigns and social media strategies, are reshaping film promotion and providing insights about audience preferences. Streaming platforms are increasingly using theatrical releases to boost visibility and subscriber engagement.

Conversely, low internet penetration countries (including in Latin America and large parts of MEA and Asia-Pacific) will have online samples which contain proportionally higher levels of young, urban and educated individuals, reflecting the nature of internet usage in those countries.

India and Latin America will stand out, as usual. Now that China’s era of seemingly universal high growth across all categories has ended, the next exciting markets are India and Latin America. For sub OTT, Brazil, Mexico, India, and Argentina will round out the top five for viewer growth in 2024 and in 2025, trailing only Indonesia both years.