蘑菇AV

Mercado Libre will grow its headcount by 33% this year to solidify Latin America ecommerce dominance: The company looks to strengthen its business in Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina鈥攊ts three largest markets.

With $400 million in media under management and clients like Biossance, Puma, and Gerber Childrenswear, the agency is deepening its commitment to platforms like Amazon, Walmart, and Kroger. Crush stands out for its performance-aligned model, charging based on growth instead of traditional agency fees鈥攁 strategy tailored to ecommerce-native clients.

Walmart Connect attracts marketers, gaining ground over Amazon: Digiday data shows that marketers are enticed by Walmart鈥檚 growth and unique ad space.

The tool uses Best Buy鈥檚 first-party data and supports Meta鈥檚 Advantage+ shopping campaigns. Instacart is giving all brands access to in-store advertising via its Caper Carts. Starting next month, marketers鈥� shoppable display campaigns will be automatically extended across Instacart鈥檚 marketplace and Caper Cart鈥檚 digital screens.

An example of the latter is Amazon Prime Video targeting using shopping history on the ecommerce platform. Additionally, retailers are opening their media networks to non-endemic buyers (brands that don鈥檛 usually sell through the retailer property but offer related products that appeal to certain user behaviors). In-store ad inventory also represents a growing opportunity.

But Instacart鈥檚 attractiveness as an advertising platform also depends on the health of its core grocery delivery business鈥攚hich could face headwinds as grocers like Kroger invest in their own ecommerce capabilities and consumers look for ways to save on rising grocery bills.

Ecommerce may be hit particularly hard after President Donald Trump ramped up tariffs on China to 245% and announced plans to tighten regulations on de minimis imports from China and Hong Kong鈥攎oves that will likely dampen sales from Chinese-based sellers on online marketplaces operated by retailers like Amazon and Walmart, as well as reduce growth for platforms like Shein and Temu.

But the popularity of TikTok Shop, which is integrated with TikTok Live, has kept growth in consumer adoption of livestream shopping in the double digits. We expect that US livestream buyers will surpass 60 million by 2028. Click here to view our full forecast for US livestreaming retail ecommerce buyers.

Turbulence in trade relations is changing how China鈥檚 ecommerce platforms do business in the US, with spillover effects on US retail and advertising.

A2A payments made up 5% of US ecommerce purchases in 2023, per Worldpay, and that share is only expected to grow to 7% by 2027. For in-store retail, A2A payment usage is almost nonexistent. Real-time payments innovation could spur usage, but not in the short term. Merchants want to capitalize on the benefits of A2A payments.

Canada ranked No. 2 globally in cross-border retail ecommerce buyer penetration, according to our December 2024 forecasts. More than half (56.1%) of digital buyers were forecast to make transactions outside of the country (mostly the US) in 2025. But tariffs on US consumer goods and services will reduce demand significantly.

Approximately two-thirds (66.9%) of Amazon鈥檚 $45 billion in retail media revenues come from on-site search ads fueled by the company鈥檚 vast ecommerce dominance. Furthermore, Amazon鈥檚 diminishing YoY growth rates in retail media signal that the ecommerce giant is reaching the limitations of on-site monetization.

Among these large players, Netflix, Walmart, TikTok, and Amazon are set for the fastest growth, at least in theory. Click here to view our full forecast for US digital ad revenues by company. If TikTok doesn鈥檛 survive its second reprieve this summer, half of its annual total will be up for grabs.

Walmart faces the biggest exposure, accounting for 25.8% of SNAP recipients鈥� grocery spending and 21.3% of their non-grocery spend, per Numerator. Kroger and Albertsons are also vulnerable, with 9.1% and 6.5% shares of SNAP grocery dollars, respectively.

What this means for retail: The deal reflects the mainstreaming of BNPL, which is being embedded everywhere from delivery platforms like DoorDash to big-box retailers like Walmart to auto services providers like Tekmeric.

The ecommerce giant also launched a low-cost line of essential grocery items, Amazon Saver, in late 2024, with extra discounts for Prime members. The strongest private label retailers draw shoppers to their own brands. Limited-selection retailers (such as warehouse clubs and discount grocers) lean into private label to offer value-focused products and drive customer loyalty to their brands.

Other major corporations, including McDonald鈥檚, Walmart, and Target have followed suit. The latter has faced significant backlash over this decision鈥攑articularly because the company was previously fiercely committed to DEI efforts.

Layered onto an already fragile retail climate, the added pressures from inflation, job cuts, and falling market values could push the economy closer to a recession, hitting shoppers from all sides. It鈥檚 no surprise that nearly half (46%) of CEOs believe tariffs will hurt their businesses, with another 36% saying it鈥檚 too soon to tell.

In our exclusive survey with ESW, data from shoppers in 18 countries reveals new twists in the path to purchase, the rising momentum of marketplaces, and the resilience of age-old fundamentals.

Hispanic consumers curb spending over immigration policy fears: Their discretionary purchases are falling sharply, hurting sales at Walmart and Constellation.